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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


"there   seemed   to   be   a   maid  in   white   coming  along   THE' 

PATH  " 


•**■ 


THE     G  li  A  Y     MAN 


B  novel 


BY 

S.  R.  CROCKETT 

author  of  "  the  stickit  minister ' 
"the  raiders"  etc. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW    YOUK 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS    PUBLISHERS 

1896 


Copyright,  189G,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


All  rights  reserved. 


PR 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER                                                   *  PAGE 

I.  The  Oath  of  Swords 1 

11.  The  Lass  of  the  White  Tower 14 

III.  The  Second  Taunting  of  Spurheel     ...  22 

IV.  The  Inn  on  the  Red  Moss 28 

V.  The  Throwing  of  the  Bloody  Dagger   .     .  36 

VI.  The  Crown  of  the  Causeway 41 

VII.  My  Lady's  Favors 51 

VIII.  The  Laird  of  Auchendrayne 59 

IX.  Cartel  of  Contumely ,     .  69 

X.  Sir  Thomas  of  the  Top-knot 78 

XI.  Sword  and  Spit 84 

XII.  The  Flitting  of  the  Sow 94 

XIIL  The  Tryst  at  Midnight 104 

XIV.  The  Adventure  of  the  Garden 114 

XV.  A  Midnight  Leaguer ,123 

XVI.  Graybeards  and  Dimple  Chins 130 

XVII.  The  Corbies  at  the  Eagle's  Nest  .     .     .     .139 

XVIII.  Bairns'  Play 145 

XIX.  Fighting  the  Beasts 151 

XX.  The  Secret  of  the  Caird 156 

XXI.  Mine  Ancient  Sweetheart 1G4 

XXII.  A  Marriage  Made  in   Hell l7l 

XXIIL  A  Galloway  PtAio 180 

XXIV.  The  Slaughter  in  the  Snow 186 

XXV.  Marjorie  Bids  Her  Love  Good-night.     .     .196 


1618446 


IV  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXVI.  Days  of  Quiet 202 

XXVII.  On  the  IIeartsome  Heather 20G 

XXVIII.  Warm  Backs  Make  Braw  Bairns  .     .     .216 
XXIX.  The  Murder  among  the  Sand-hills     .     .   224 

XXX.  I  Seek  for  Vengeance. 231 

XXXI.  The  Blue  Blanket 236 

XXXIt.  Greek  Meets  Greek 243 

XXXIII.  The  Devil  is  a  Gentleman 252 

XXXIV.  In  the  Enemy's  Country 2C0 

XXXV.  The  Ogre's  Castle 266 

XXXVI.  The  Defence  of  Castle  Ailsa  ....  273 
XXXVII.  The  Voice  Out  of  the  Night    .     .     .     .282 

XXXVIII.  A  Rescue  from  the  Sea 292 

XXXIX.  The  Cleft  in  the  Rock 296 

XL.  The  Cave  of  Death 304 

XLI.  The  Were-wolf  of  Benerard    ....  313 

XLII.  Ane  Lochaber  Aix  Gied  Him  His  Paiks.  318 

XLIII.  The  Moot  Hill  of  Girvan 328 

XLIV.  The  Murder  upon  the  Beach     ....  333 

XLV.  The  Man  in  the  Wide  Breeches   .     .     .  342 

XLVI.  The  Judgment  of  God 348 

XLVII.  The  Place  of  the  Legion  of  Devils.     .  359 

XLVIII.  The  Finding  of  the  Treasure  of  Kelwood  370 

XLIX.  The  Great  Day  of  Trial 376 

L.  The  Last  of  the  Gray  Man 382 

LI.  Marjorie's  Good-night 391 

LIT.  Home-coming 395 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


"  A   MAID   IN  WHITE   COMING   ALONG   THE   PATH  "      ,    Frontispiece 
"there    was    A    RING    OF    STEEL    ABOUT    HIM  "        .    Facing  p.       8 

"we   RODE   ON  SOME  MILES'THROUGH  THE  WOODS"  "  28 

"A    MISSILE    CAME    FLASHING    THROUGH"      ...  "  38 

"HIGH    IN    MY    ROOM    IN    THE    WHITE    TOWER ".       .  "  58 

"  HE   AVAS    DRESSED    IN   A    LONG,  LANK    ROBE  "  .       .  "  80 
"their  BLADES  MET  WITH  SO  STERN  A  CLASH  THAT 

SPARKS  WERE   DRIVEN   FROM   THE    STEEL ".       .  "  90 

"BARGANY    SET    HER    FINGERS    TO    HIS    LIPS "    .       .  "  110 

"l    THOUGHT    OF    NAUGHT    BUT    WHAT    HE    SAID  "  .  "  134 
"  THERE    WAS    NOTHING    FOR    IT,   THEREFORE,   BUT 

TO    GO    OUT    alone" "  150 

"he   TURNED   AND   TWISTED   TO   FREE    HIS   HANDS"  "  162 

"KATE    SAT    BESIDE    ME    ON    A    STOOL  "    ....  "  166 
"our     MUSKETEERS     THREW     THEIR     LINES     INTO 

CONFUSION" "  194 

"SHE    TOOK    THE    WOUNDED    HEAD    IN    IIER   ARMS  "  "  200 

"HE   WOULD    CAUSE    ME    TO    READ    TO    HIM  "        .       .  "  206 

"'murder!  FOUL  murder!'  I  cried"  ....  "  228 

"the  SCHOOL   HUMMED  ABOUT  him" "  244 

"  MARJORIE    WAS    SITTING    BY    A    TABLE  "       ...  "  258 


VI 


ILLUSTEATIOKS 


"  she  was  lifting  a  heavy  iron  pot  "  .  .  . 
"a  rout  of  savages  filled  the  wide  cave"  . 
"dominie  muir  blew  a  snorting  blast"  .  . 
"  then  the  three  walked  a  little  apart  "  . 
"  he  stepped  down  and  made  his  obeisance  " 


"  telling  me  of  the  tortures  " 


"  the  headsman  and  his  assistants  " 


we  laid  her  down  on  a  bed 


Facing  p.  268 
308 
322 
338 
346 
362 
384 
392 


THE    GEAY    MAN 


THE  GRAY  MAN 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  OATH  OF  SWORDS 


Well  do  I  mind  the  first  time  that  ever  I  was  in  the 
heartsome  town  of  Ballantrae.     My  father  seldom  went 
thither,  because  it  was  a  hold  of  the  Bargauy  folk,  and  it 
argued,  therefore,  sounder  sense  to  give  it  the  go-by.    But 
it  came  to  pass  upon  a  time  that  it  was  necessarv  ^ 
my  father  to  adventure  from  Kirrieoch  on  t^- 
of  Galloway,  where  we  dwelt  high  on  tb' 
seaside  of  Ayr. 

My  father's  sister  had  mar^-' 
Grier,  an  indweller  in  Mayb 
settled  down  to  his  traf' 
was  to  his  burying  ^' 
snugly  happed  up. 
were  already  ir 
heard  the  s'" 
thither. 

the  +^  * 

m^* 


-«  THE    GRAY   MAN 

"  It  is  the  Cassillis  folk  that  are  besieging  the  Tower 
of  Ardstinchar,  and  they  have  come  near  to  the  takinsr 
of  it,  they  say.  Oh,  what  will  the  folk  of  Ballantrae  do 
to  you,  John,  if  they  ken  that  you  are  here  ?  They  will 
hang  you  for  a  spy,  and  that  without  question." 

"That,"  said  my  father,  "is  surely  impossible.  The 
Ballantrae  folk  never  had  any  great  haul  of  sense  ever 
since  Stinchar  water  ran,  but  yet  they  will  hardly  believe 
that  Hew  Grier,  decent  man — him  that  Avas  your  marrow 
and  lies  now  in  his  resting  grave,  poor  body — took  on 
himself  to  die,  just  that  I  might  come  to  Ballantrae  to 
spy  out  the  land!" 

But  my  aunt,  being  easily  flustered,  would  not  heark- 
en to  him,  thinking  that  all  terrible  things  were  possi- 
ble, and  so  hid  the  two  of  us  in  the  barn-loft  till  it  should 
be  the  hour  of  the  gloaming. 
Then,  so  soon  as  the  darkening  came,  putting  a  flask 
^^Ik  into  my  pocket  and  giving  a  noble  satchel  of 
'^v  father,  she   almost  pushed  us  out  of  her 
'■•■  this  day  I  remember  how  the  unsteady 
"•  filled  all  the  street.    And  we  could 
^ing  at  their  doors,  all  looking 
the  Castle  of  Ardstinchar 
t  their  heads  out  of  the 
^d  in  each  gable  Avail, 
"^rs. 

'  the  riverside, 

""er,  we  saw 

skies — 

•  up- 


THE    OATn    OF    SWORDS  3 

like  a  torch.  So,  at  the  sight  of  them,  my  father  turned 
us  about  sharply  enough,  because,  in  spite  of  what  he  had 
said  to  my  aunt  Grisel,  he  had  much  reason  to  fear  for 
his  neck.  For  if,  on  the  night  of  a  Cassillis  raid,  one  of 
the  hated  faction  should  be  found  in  the  town  of  Ballan- 
trae,  little  doubt  there  was  but  that  a  long  tow  and  a 
short  shrift  would  be  his  fate. 

We  climbed  the  breast  of  the  brae  up  from  the  water- 
side, intending  to  make  a  detour  behind  the  castle.  My 
father  said  that  there  would  be  an  easy  crossing  at 
Heronford,  where  he  knew  a  decent  man  that  was  of 
his  party.'  Thence  we  could  make  up  the  glen  of  the 
Tigg  Water,  which  in  the  evil  state  of  the  country  Avas 
as  good  and  quiet  a  way  back  to  Minnochside  as  one 
might  hope  to  find. 

It  seemed  a  most  pitiful  sight  to  me,  that  was  but  a 
young  lad  (and  had  never  seen  a  fire  bigger  than  a  screed 
of  muirburn  screeving  across  the  hills  with  a  following 
wind  at  its  tail),  to  watch  the  noble  house  with  all  its 
wealth  of  plenishing  and  gear  being  burned  up. 

I  said  as  much  to  my  father,  Avho  swung  along  with  his 
head  bent  to  the  hill  slope,  dragging  my  arm  oftentimes 
almost  from  the  socket,  in  his  haste  to  get  us  out  of  such 
unwholesome  company  as  the  angry  folk  of  Ballantrae. 

"It  is  an  enemy's  house  !"  he  replied,  very  hastily. 
"  Come  thy  ways,  lad  !" 

"But  what  harm  have  the  Bargany  folk  done  to  us  ?" 
I  asked.  For  this  thing  seemed  strange  to  me — that  Ken- 
nedy should  strive  Avith  Kennedy,  burn  castle,  kill  man, 
harry  mow  and  manger,  drive  cattle — and  I  never  be 
able  to  make  out  what  it  was  all  for. 

"'  Hold  your  breath,  Launcelot  Kennedy  !"  said  my 
father,  testy  with  shortness  of  wind  and  going  up  hill, 
"  or  right  speedily  you  will  find  out  for  what !  Is  it 
not  enough  that  you  are  born  to  love  Cassillis  and  to 
hate  Bargany  ?" 


4  THE   GEAT   MAN 

"  Are  the  folk  of  Cassillis,  then,  so  much  better  than 
the  folk  of  Bargany?"  I  asked,  taking  what  I  well  knew 
to  be  the  chances  of  a  civil  answer  or  of  a  ring  on  the 
side  of  the  head. 

It  was  not  the  civil  answer  that  I  got. 

And,  indeed,  it  was  an  ill  time  for  query  and  question, 
or  for  the  answering  of  them.  In  time  we  got  to  the 
angle  of  the  castle,  and  there  we  were  somewhat  sheltered 
from  the  fierce  heat  and  from  the  glare  of  light  also. 
From  the  eminence  we  had  gained  we  could  look  away 
along  the  shore-side.     My  father  pointed  with  his  finger. 

"  Boy,  do  you  see  yon  ?"  he  whisj)ered. 

I  looked  long  and  eagerly  with  my  unaccustomed  eyes 
before  I  could  see  in  the  pale  moonlight  a  dark  train  of 
horsemen  that  rode  steadily  northward.  Their  line  wim- 
pled like  a  serpent,  being  pricked  out  of  our  sight  with 
little  reeling  twinkles  of  fire,  which  I  took  to  be  the  moon 
shining  on  their  armor  and  the  points  of  their  spears. 

"See,"  said  my  father,  "yonder  goes  our  good  Earl 
home  with  the  spoil.  Would  that  I  were  by  his  side  ! 
Why  do  I  live  so  far  among  the  hills  and  out  of  the  call 
of  my  chief  when  he  casts  his  war-pennon  to  the  winds  ?" 

We  looked  all  round  the  castle,  and,  seeing  no  one,  we 
made  shift  to  get  about  it  and  darn  ourselves  among  the 
heather  of  the  farther  hillside.  But  even  as  Ave  passed 
the  angle  and  came  to  a  broken  part  of  the  wall  there 
came  a  trampling  of  iron-shod  hoofs.  And  lo  !  a  troop 
of  horsemen  rode  up  to  the  main  castle  gate,  that  which 
looks  to  the  northwest.  It  was  all  we  could  do  to  clamber 
out  of  sight  over  the  broken  wall,  my  father  lifting  me 
in  his  arms.  There  we  lay  flat  and  silent  behind  a  pile 
of  stones,  just  where  the  breach  had  been  made, — over 
which  we  could  look  into  the  courtyard  and  see  the 
splotched  causeway  and  the  bodies  of  the  dead  lying  here 
and  there  athwart  it  in  the  ruddy  light  of  burning. 

Just  as  the  foremost  horseman  came  to  the  gate,  which 


THE    OATH  OF    SWOKDS  5 

the  riders  of  Cassillis  had  left  Avido  open,  tlie  roof  of  red 
tile  fell  in  with  an  awesome  crash.  The  flames  again 
sprang  high  and  the  sparks  soared.  Soon  all  the  court- 
yard was  aglow  with  the  red,  unsteady  leme  which  the  skies 
gave  back,  while  the  moon  and  stars  paled  and  went  out. 

"  Hist !"  whispered  my  father ;  "  this  is  young  Bargany 
himself  who  comes  first." 

I  looked  eagerly  from  behind  a  stone  and  saw  the 
noblest  figure  of  a  young  man  that  ever  I  saw  or  shall  see 
riding  on  a  black  horse,  sitting  framed  in  the  dark  of 
the  gateway,  the  flames  making  a  crimson  flicker  about 
him.  After  a  moment's  pause  he  rode  within  the  deserted 
close,  and  there  sat  his  horse,  looking  up  sternly  and 
silently  at  the  leaping  flames  and  hearkening  as  it  were 
to  the  crackling  of  the  timbers  as  they  burned. 

Then  another  and  yet  another  horseman  came  riding 
within,  some  of  whom  my  father  knew. 

"  See  you,  Launce,  and  remember,"  he  whispered, 
"  that  loon  there  is  Thomas  Kennedy  of  Drummurchie, 
Bargany's  brother.  Observe  his  fangs  of  the  wolf.  He 
of  all  the  crew  is  the  wickedest  and  the  worst." 

I  looked  forth  and  saw  a  gaunt,  dark  youth,  with  a 
short  upper  lip  drawn  up  from  teeth  that  shone  white 
in  the  leaping  flame  which  harvested  the  goodly  gear  of 
the  house  of  Ardstinchar. 

''There  also  is  Blairquhan the  Simpleton,  Cloncaird  of 
the  Black  Ileart,  and  Benane  the  Laird's  brother — a  very 
debauched  man— and  there,  I  declare,  is  my  Lord  Ochil- 
tree. Upon  my  soul  and  conscience,  I  wonder  what  he 
does  here  thus  riding  with  the  Barganies  ?" 

As  soon  as  the  fire  died  down  a  little,  some  of  the 
party  began  to  search  about  among  the  defences  and  out- 
houses, and  a  few  even  entered  into  the  inner  part  of  the 
tower.  In  twos  and  threes  they  came  forth,  some  bring- 
ing a  wounded  man,  some  a  dead  man,  till  on  the  cool, 
gray  stones  of  the  court  there  rested  five  that  lay  motion- 


6  THE    GRAY    MAX 

less  on  their  backs,  and  two  that  moaned  and  then  were 
still.  The  more  lightly  wonnded  were  cared  for  in  a 
chamber  within  the  gate.  Then  we  could  see  all  the 
gentlemen  of  the  Bargany  side  dismounted  from  their 
horses  and  standing  about  those  five  that  were  killed. 

"Alas  for  young  Girvanmains  !"  I  heard  one  cry, 
for  we  were  very  near.  "  What  shall  we  say  to  his 
father  ?  And  here  also  is  Walter  Pollock,  the  cunning 
scrivener  ;  and  James  Dalrymple,  that  was  a  kindly  little 
man  and  never  harmed  any  one — the  Lord  do  so  to  me, 
and  more  also,  if  I  write  not  this  killing  in  blood  upon 
the  walls  of  Cassillis  !" 

The  crowd  thinned  a  little,  and  I  saw  it  was  the  Laird 
himself  that  spoke. 

Then  this  same  young  Bargany,  who  was  taller  by  a 
head  than  any  there,  called  for  room.  So  they  made  a 
ring,  with  the  dead  men  in  the  midst,  and  Bargany  stand- 
ing a  little  before.  He  bent  him  over  the  body  of  Walter 
Pollock,  the  young  clerk,  and  drew  forth  a  book  from  his 
breast. 

"Listen!"  he  cried,  "all  you  that  love  Bargany,  and 
who  now  behold  this  deed  of  dule  and  cruelty.  Here  lie 
our  dead.  Here  is  the  Book  of  God  that  I  have  taken 
from  one  of  the  servants  of  peace,  cruelly  bereft  of  life 
by  our  enemies !" 

"  I  warrant  he  drew  a  good  sword  when  it  came  to  fight- 
ing, clerk  though  he  might  be,"  whisj^ered  my  father.  "'  I 
know  the  Pollock  breed." 

Bargany  looked  at  the  book  in  his  grasp  and  again  at 
the  hand  which  had  held  it. 

"  This  falls  out  well,"  he  said.  "  Here,  in  the  presence 
of  our  dead,  upon  the  Bible  that  is  wet  with  the  blood  of 
the  unjustly  slain,  let  us  band  ourselves  together  and  take 
oath  to  be  avenged  upon  the  cruel  house — the  house  of 
overtrampling  pride — the  house  that  has  ever  wrought  us 
woe.     W^ill  ye  swear  ?" 


.  THE   OATH    OF    SWORDS  7 

lie  looked  round  n  circle  of  fiices  that  shone  fierce  and 
dark  in  the  lowe  of  the  furnace  beyond.  As  he  did  so  he 
unsheathed  his  sword,  and  pointed  with  it  to  the  topmost 
pinnacles  of  Ardstinchar.  In  a  moment  there  was  a  ring 
of  steel  about  him,  for,  quick  as  his  own,  every  man's  hand 
went  out  to  his  scabbard,  and  in  every  man's  grip  there 
gleamed  a  bare  blade.  And  the  sight  thrilled  me  to 
see  it,  ay,  more  than  all  the  religion  I  had  ever  been 
taught,  for  I  was  but  a  boy.  And  even  though  religion  be 
learned  in  youth,  the  strength  and  the  use  of  it  comes 
not  till  after. 

Thus  Bargany  stood  with  the  brand  in  his  right  hand 
and  the  Bible  in  his  left,  to  take,  as  was  ancient  custom 
in  our  countryside,  the  solemn  oath  of  vengeance  and 
eternal  enmity.     And  thus  he  spake, — 

"  By  this  Holy  Book  and  by  the  wet  blood  upon  it,  I, 
Gilbert  Kennedy  of  Bargany,  swear  never  to  satisfy  my 
just  feud  against  the  bloody  house  of  Cassillis  till  of  all 
their  defenced  towers  there  stands  not  one  stone  in  its 
place,  remains  alive  not  one  scion  of  its  cruel  race.  I 
who  stand  here,  in  the  presence  of  these  dead  men  of  my 
folk,  charge  the  Kennedies  of  the  North  with  the  blood 
of  my  kin,  the  spoiling  of  my  vassals,  and  the  heart- 
breaking of  my  father.  In  the  name  of  God  I  swear ! 
If  I  stay  my  hand  and  make  not  an  end,  the  God  of  Battles 
do  so  to  me  and  more  also  !" 

Gilbert  Kennedy  kissed  the  book  which  he  gripped  in 
his  left  hand,  and  then  with  sudden  gesture  of  hatred  he 
flung  down  the  sword  which  he  had  held  aloft  in  his  right. 
It  fell  with  a  ringing  dirl  of  iron  upon  the  stones  of  the 
pavement  beside  the  slain  men,  and  the  sound  of  its  fall 
made  the  flesh  creep  on  my  bones. 

Then  the  Laird's  wicked  brother  Thomas,  called  the 
Wolf  of  Drummurchie,  came  forward,  hatred  fairly  spark- 
ling in  his  eyes,  and  his  teeth  set  in  a  girn  of  devil's  anger. 

"I  swear,"  he  cried,  "to  harry  John  of  Cassillis,  tho 


8  THE    GKAY   MAN 

enemy  that  has  wrought  us  this  woe,  with  fire  and  sword 
— to  cut  off  him  and  his  with  dagger  and  spear,  to  light 
the  thack,  and  to  lift  the  cattle.  I  will  be  an  outlaw, 
a  prey  for  the  hunters  for  their  sake.  For  Cassillis  it  was 
who  first  slandered  me  to  the  King,  chased  me  from  my 
home,  and  made  me  no  better  than  a  robber  man  upon 
the  mountains." 

And  in  turn  he  kissed  the  Book,  and  his  sword  rang 
grimly  on  the  pavement  beside  his  brother's.  So  one 
by  one  the  men  of  Bargany  took  the  solemn  band  of 
eternal  and  bloody  feud.  Presently  an  old  man  stood 
forth.  He  held  a  spear  in  his  hand,  being,  as  my  father 
whispered,  but  a  tenant  vassal  and  keeping  to  the  ancient 
Scottish  yeomen's  weapon. 

"By  the  blood  of  my  son  that  lies  here  before  me,  by 
this  spear  which  he  held  in  his  dying  hand,  I,  that  am  but 
the  poor  goodman  of  Girvanmains,  before  death  takes 
me  to  where  all  vengeance  is  Another's,  I  swear  the  ven- 
geance of  blood !" 

And  he  cast  the  spear  beside  the  swords  of  the  gentle- 
men. Then  issuing  forth  from  the  chamber  over  the 
gate,  and  leaning  heavily  upon  the  arm  of  a  young  page 
boy,  there  came  creeping  the  strangest  shape  of  a  man 
— his  countenance  thrawed  and  drawn,  his  shrunk  shanks 
twisted,  his  feet  wambling  one  over  another  like  those 
of  a  mummer's  bear.  Bowed  double  the  man  was,  and 
walked  with  a  staff  that  tapjicd  and  rattled  tremblingly 
on  the  pavement  as  he  came.  The  men  of  war  turned  at 
the  sound,  for  there  had  been  stark  silence  among  them 
after  old  Girvanmains  had  let  his  spear  fall. 

Like  one  risen  from  the  dead,  the  old  man  looked  up  at 
the  tower  that  was  now  beginning  to  show  black  against 
the  dulling  red  glow  of  the  dying  fire. 

"Thou,  tower  of  Ardstinchar  !"  he  cried,  lifting  up  a 
voice  like  the  wind  whistling  through  scrannel  pipes, 
"  they  have  burned  you  that  erstwhile  burned  me.    Curse 


o 


< 
> 


O 
-I] 


> 

o 
d 


THE    OATH    OF    SWOKDS  9 

me  Cassillis  and  the  Lords  of  it !  Curse  me  all  that 
cleave  to  it,  for  their  tender  mercies  are  cruel  !  I, 
Allan  Stewart,  sometime  Abbot  of  Crossraguel,  lay  my 
curse  bitterly  upon  them  for  tlie  cruel  burning  they 
gave  me  before  their  fire  in  the  Black  Vault  of  Dunure. 
But  bless  me  the  House  of  Bargany,  that  rescued  me 
from  torture  and  took  me  to  their  strong  tower,  wherein 
I  have  to  this  day  found  in  peace  a  quiet  abiding- 
chamber  !" 

"  Mark  well,  boy,"  whispered  my  father,  "  remember 
this  to  tell  it  in  after-days  to  your  children's  children. 
Your  eyes  have  seen  the  Abbot  of  Crossraguel,  whom  the 
King  of  Carrick,  the  father  of  our  Earl  John,  roasted 
quick  in  the  vault  of  Dunure, — a  deed  which  has  wrought 
mickle  woe,  and  will  yet  work  more." 

And  even  as  my  father  spoke  I  saw  the  old  cripple 
hirple  away,  the  young  Laird  himself  helping  with  the 
kindliest  courtesy. 

Then  last  of  all  that  spake,  came  a  voice  from  one  who 
had  remained  in  the  gloomy  archway  of  the  gate,  by  the 
entering  in  of  the  courtyard.  He  that  broke  the  silence 
was  a  tall  man  who  sat  on  a  gray  horse,  and  was  clad 
from  head  to  foot  in  a  cloak  of  gray,  having  his  face 
shaded  with  a  high-crowned,  broad-brimmed  hat  of  the 
ancient  fashion. 

"  Give  me  the  Book  and  I  also  will  swear  an  oath  !"  he 
said,  in  a  voice  which  made  all  turn  towards  him. 

''Who  may  that  man  be  ?  I  ken  him  not,"  said  my 
father,  for  he  had  named  all  the  others  as  they  came 
within. 

So  one  gave  the  man  the  blood-stained  Bible,  and  he 
held  it  in  his  hand  a  moment.  He  was  silent  a  space 
before  he  spoke. 

"  By  this  Christian  Book  and  among  this  Christian 
people,"  he  cried,  "  I  swear  to  root  out  and  slay  utterly 
all  the  House  of  Cassillis  and  Culzean,  pursuing  them. 


10  THE   GRAY    MAN" 

man,  woman,  and  child,  with  fire  and  sword  till  they  die 
the  death  of  pain  and  scorn,  or  I  who  swear  die  in  the 
accomplishing  of  it." 

The  unknown  paused  at  the  end  of  this  terrible  oath, 
and  gazed  again  at  the  Book.  The  dying  flame  within 
the  castle  flared  up  for  a  chance  moment  as  another 
rafter  caught  fire. 

"  Fauch,"  said  he  of  the  gray  cloak,  looking  at  the 
Bible  in  his  hand,  ''there  is  blood  upon  thee.  Go  thou 
into  the  burning  as  the  seal  of  our  oaths.  A  bloody 
Bible  is  no  Christian  book  !" 

And  with  that  he  threw  the  Bible  into  the  red  embers 
that  glowed  sullenly  within  the  tower. 

There  broke  a  cry  of  horror  from  all  that  saw.  For 
though  in  this  dark  land  of  Carrick  deeds  of  blood  were 
done  every  day,  this  Bible-burning  was  accounted  rank 
blasphemy  and  ungodly  sacrilege.  But  I  was  not  pre- 
pared for  its  effect  upon  my  father.  He  trembled  in 
all  his  limbs,  and  I  felt  the  stones  shake  upon  which 
he  now  leaned  breast-high,  careless  who  should  see 
him. 

"■  This  is  fair  devil's  work,"  he  muttered.  "  The  fires 
of  Sodom,  the  brimstone  of  Gomorrah,  shall  light  upon 
us  all  for  this  deed." 

He  would  have  said  more,  but  I  never  heard  him  finish 
his  words.  Sudden  as  a  springing  deer,  he  tore  from  the 
covert  of  the  wall  by  my  side  and  bounded  across  the 
court,  threading  the  surprised  group  and  overleaping  the 
swords  and  the  bodies  of  the  slain  men.  He  disappeared 
in  a  moment  through  the  door  into  the  tower,  within 
which  the  flame  still  glowed  red,  and  from  which  every 
instant  the  crash  of  falling  timber  and  the  leaping  flames 
answered  each  other. 

Ere  my  father  sprang  back,  his  figure  stood  plain  and 
dark  against  the  fire  within  like  that  of  a  smith  at  his 
forge,  seen  in  the  bygoing  upon  a  snowy  night.     He  held 


THE    OATH    OF   SWORDS  11 

the  iiiibiirned  Bible  clasped  to  his  breast,  but  his  left 
hand  hung  straight  down  by  his  side. 

A  moment  after  he  had  sprung  from  a  window  and 
fallen  upon  his  face  on  the  pavement  with  the  Bible 
beneath  him. 

A  dozen  men  ran  towards  him  and  seized  him, — 
Thomas  of  Drnmmurchie  the  first  among  them. 

''A  traitor!  A  sjjy !"  he  cried,  lifting  a  sword  from 
the  pile  with  clear  purpose  to  kill.  "  To  the  death  with 
him!  It  is  John  Kennedy  of  Kirrieoch  —  I  ken  him 
well — a  rank  Cassillis  thief  !" 

And  he  would  have  slain  my  father  forthwith,  but  that 
I  ran  among  his  legs  and  gripped  him  so  close  to  me 
that  he  fell  clattering  on  the  pavement  among  the  swords. 
Then  I  went  and  took  my  father's  hand,  standing  by  his 
side  and  crying  out  the  while  : 

"Ye  shallna,  ye  shallna  kill  my  father  !  He  never  did 
ye  harm  a'  the  days  o'  his  life  !" 

"  Who  are  you,  and  what  do  you  here  ?"  asked  young 
Bargany  in  a  voice  of  command,  when  they  had  set  my 
father  on  his  feet. 

"  I  am  John  Kennedy  of  Kirrieoch  on  Minnochside, 
and  I  came  to  Ballantrae  to  bury  the  corpse  of  my  sis- 
ter's man.  Hew  Grier,  merchant  and  indweller  there,  that 
was  this  day  laid  in  the  earth." 

So,  right  quietly  and  calmly,  my  father  spoke  among 
them  all. 

"  But  what  seek  you  in  my  burned  castle  of  Ardstin- 
char  and  alone  with  these  dead  men  ?"  asked  the  young 
Bargany. 

With  a  quietness  that  came  of  the  hills  my  father  told 
the  chieftain  his  plain  tale,  and  his  words  were  not  words 
that  any  man  could  gainsay. 

Then  Bargany  answered  him  without  consulting  the 
others,  as  none  but  a  great  chief  does  whose  lightest 
word  is  life  or  death. 


12  THE    GRAY    MAN" 

"  Ye  arc  here  within  my  danger,  and  had  I  been  even 
as  yonr  folk  of  Cassillis,  ye  should  have  died  the  death ; 
but  because  ye  stopped  devil's  work,  and,  it  may  be, 
kept  away  a  curse  from  us  for  burning  of  the  Holy  Book, 
ye  shall  not  die  in  my  house.  Take  your  life  and  your 
son's  life,  as  a  gift  from  Gilbert  Kennedy  of  Bargany." 

My  father  bowed  his  head  and  thanked  his  house's 
enemy. 

"  Bring  a  horse  !"  cried  the  Laird,  and  immediately 
they  set  my  father  on  a  beast,  and  me  in  the  saddle  before 
him.  "  Put  the  Bible  for  a  keepsake  in  your  winnock 
sole,  turn  out  the  steed  on  Minnochside,  and  come  no 
more  to  Ballantrae  in  time  of  feud,  lest  a  worse  thing 
befall  you  !"  So  said  he,  and  waved  us  away,  as  I  thought 
grandly. 

Some  of  the  men  that  had  sworn  enmity  murmured 
behind  him. 

''Silence!"  he  cried,  "am  not  I  Lord  of  Bargany? 
Shall  I  not  do  as  I  will  ?  Take  your  life,  Kirrieoch. 
And  whenever  a  Bargany  rides  by  your  door,  ye  shall 
give  him  bite  and  sup  for  the  favor  that  was  this  night 
shown  you  in  the  courtyard  of  Ardstinchar." 

"  Ye  shall  get  that,  Bargany,  and  welcome,  whether  ye 
let  me  gang  or  no  !"  said  my  father.  And  pressing  the 
Book  to  his  bosom,  and  gathering  up  the  reins  in  his 
unwounded  hand,  we  rode  unquestioned  through  the 
arch  of  the  wall  into  the  silence  of  the  night.  And  the 
hill  winds  and  the  stillnesses  were  like  God's  blessing 
about  us. 

But  from  a  knoll  on  the  left  of  the  entrance  the  man 
of  the  gray  habit,  he  who  had  thrown  the  Bible,  sat  si- 
lent upon  his  horse  and  watched.  And  as  we  looked  back, 
he  still  sat  and  watched.  Him  my  father  took  to  have 
been  the  devil,  as  he  said  to  mc  many  times  that  night 
ere  we  got  to  Minnochside. 

Also    ere   we   left    the   clattering    pavement  behind. 


THE    OATH    OF    SWORDS  13 

looking  out  from  the  postern  door  we  saw  the  thrawn 
visage  of  liini  who  was  Alhin  Stewart,  the  tortured  resi- 
due of  the  man  who  had  been  Abbot  of  Crossraguel,  and 
in  stature  like  a  square-shouldered  tower. 

And  this  is  the  way  my  father  brought  home  the  burnt 
Bible  to  the  house  of  Kirrieoch.  There  it  bides  to  this 
day,  blackened  as  to  its  bindings  and  charred  at  the 
edges,  but  safe  in  the  wall-press  at  my  father's  bed-head,  a 
famous  book  in  all  the  land,  even  as  far  as  Glencaird  and 
Dranie  Manors  upon  the  AVaters  of  Trool. 

But  it  brought  good-fortune  with  it — a  fortune  which, 
God  be  thanked,  still  remains  and  grows.  And  as  for  my 
father,  he  never  lifted  sword  nor  spear  against  the  House 
of  Bargany  from  that  day  to  this,  because  of  the  usage 
which  Gilbert  Kennedy  gave  him  that  night  in  the  burn- 
ing of  Ardstinchar. 

Nevertheless,  for  all  that,  he  exercised  me  tightly  in 
the  use  of  every  weapon  of  war,  from  the  skill  of  the  bow 
to  the  shooting  of  the  hackbut.  For  it  was  his  constant 
intent  to  make  me  an  esquire  in  the  service  of  Sir 
Thomas  Kennedy  of  Culzean,*  reputed  the  wisest  man 
and  the  best  soldier  in  all  the  parts  of  Carrick  and  Ayr. 
As,  indeed,  I  have  found  him. 

And  this  saving  of  the  burning  Bible  was,  as  I  guess, 
the  beginning  of  my  respect  for  religion,  which,  alas  !  I 
fear  this  chronicle  will  show  to  have  been  both  a  late- 
garnered  and  a  thin-sown  crop. 

*  Culzean  is  prouounced  Culayne,  as  though  to  rhyme  with 
"domain." 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    LASS    OF   THE   WHITE   TOWER 

Kow,  as  the  manner  is,  I  must  make  haste  to  tell  some- 
thing of  myself  and  have  by  with  it. 

My  name  is  Launcelot  Kennedy,  and  I  alone  am  the 
teller  of  this  tale.  In  a  country  where  all  are  Kennedies, 
friends  and  foes  alike,  this  name  of  mine  is  no  great 
headmark.  So  "Launcelot  of  the  Spurs"  I  am  called, 
or  by  those  who  would  taunt  me,  "  Launcelot  Si^urheel." 
But,  for  all  that,  I  come  of  a  decent  muirland  house,  the 
Kennedies  of  Kirrieoch,  ivho  were  ever  lovers  of  the 
Cassillis  blue  and  gold, — which  are  the  royal  colors  of 
France,  in  memory  of  the  ancient  alliance, — and  ever 
haters  of  the  red  and  white  of  Bargany,  which  we 
hold  no  better  than  butchers'  colors,  bloody  and  deso- 
late. 

The  story,  or  at  least  my  own  part  in  it,  properly  be- 
gins uj^on  the  night  of  the  fair  at  Maybole, — whither,  to 
my  shame,  I  had  gone  without  troubling  my  master.  Sir 
Thomas  Kennedy  of  Culzean,  with  the  slight  matter  of 
asking  his  permission.  Indeed,  none  so  much  as  knew 
that  I  had  been  to  the  town  of  Maybole  save  Helen 
Kennedy  alone  ;  and  she,  as  I  well  knew  (although  I 
called  her  Light-head,  Clatter-tongue),  would  not  in  any 
wise  tell  tales  upon  me.  There  at  the  fair  I  spent  all  my 
silver,  buying  of  trittle-trattles  at  the  lucky-booths  and 
about  the  market  -  stalls.  But  upon  my  return  I  meant 
to  divide  fairly  with  Helen  Kennedy,  though  she  was 
fully  two  years  younger  than  I  —  indeed,  only   sixteen 


THE    LASS    OF   THE    WHITE   TOWER  15 

years  of  her  age,  though  I  grant  long  of  the  leg  and  a 
good  runner. 

So,  being  advised  of  my  excellent  intentions,  you  shall 
judge  if  I  was  not  justified  of  all  that  I  did  to  be  re- 
venged on  the  girl  afterwards. 

It  was  the  early  morning  of  a  March  day  when  I  came 
to  the  foot  of  the  Castle  of  Culzean.  I  went  with  quiet 
steps  along  the  shore,  by  the  little  path  that  leads  to  the 
coves  beneath.  I  carried  the  things  that  I  had  bought 
in  a  naj)kin,  all  tied  safely  together.  Now  the  towers  of 
Culzean  are  build  ed  upon  a  cliff,  steep  and  perilous,  over- 
looking the  sea.  And  I,  being  but  a  squire  of  eighteen 
(though  for  my  age  strong  and  bold,  and  not  to  be  beaten 
by  anything  or  feared  by  any  one),  was  lodged  high  up 
in  the  White  Tower,  which  rises  from  the  extremest 
point  of  the  rock. 

Now,  as  I  say,  I  had  not  made  mention  of  the  little 
matter  of  my  going  abroad  to  Sir  Thomas,  both  because 
it  was  unnecessary  to  trouble  him  with  so  small  a  thing, 
and  also  on  account  of  the  strictness  of  his  opinions.  It 
was,  therefore,  the  more  requisite  that  I  should  regain  my 
chamber  without  putting  lazy  G-ilbert  in  the  watch-house 
at  the  gate  to  the  trouble  of  letting  fall  the  drawbridge 
for  me.  I  did  not,  indeed,  desire  to  disturb  or  disarrange 
him,  for  he  would  surely  tell  his  master,  being  well 
called  Gabby  Gib-cat,  because  he  came  of  a  race  that 
never  in  their  lives  have  been  able  to  hold  a  secret  for  a 
single  day  in  the  belly  of  them — at  least,  not  if  it  meant 
money,  ale,  or  the  good-will  of  their  lord. 

So  it  happened  that  before  I  went  to  Maybole  I 
dropped  a  ladder  of  rope  from  the  stanchions  of  my  win- 
dow, extremely  strong  and  convenient,  which  came  down 
to  a  ledge  some  way  up  among  the  rocks,  at  a  place 
which  I  could  easily  reach  by  climbing.  Thither  I  made 
my  way  while,  as  I  tell  you,  the  night  was  beginning  to 
dusk  towards  the  dawn.     I  had  all  my  buyings  in  my 


16  THE    GRAY    MAN 

arms  tied  up  well  and  that  tightly  in  the  napkin,  just 
as  I  had  carried  them  from  the  lucky-booths  of  Maybole. 
I  tied  the  outer  knot  of  my  bundle  firmly  to  the  last 
rung  of  the  ladder,  praying  within  me  that  Sir  Thomas 
might  be  fast  asleep.  For  I  had  to  pass  within  three 
feet  of  his  window,  and,  being  an  old  man,  he  was  some- 
what wakerife  in  the  mornings,  easily  started,  and  given 
to  staring  out  of  his  lattice  without  method  or  sense,  in 
a  manner  which  had  often  filled  me  with  pain  and  fore- 
boding for  his  reason. 

But  by  the  blessing  of  God,  and  because  he  was  some- 
what tired  with  walking  in  the  fields  with  his  baron-offi- 
cer the  night  before,  it  happened  that  Sir  Thomas  was 
sound  asleep  ;  so  that  I  was  nothing  troubled  with  him. 
But  immediately  beneath  me,  in  the  White  Tower,  were 
the  rooms  of  his  two  daughters,  Marjorie  and  Helen  Ken- 
nedy, and  of  these  Helen's  room  was  to  the  front,  so  that 
my  rope-ladder  passed  immediately  in  front  of  her  win- 
dow, while  the  chamber  of  Marjorie  was  to  the  back,  and, 
in  this  instance,  concerned  me  not  at  all. 

So  as  I  scrambled  up  the  swinging  ladder  (and,  indeed, 
there  are  not  many  that  would  venture  as  much  on  a  cold 
March  morning)  I  passed  Helen  Kennedy's  window.  As 
I  went  by,  the  devil,  as  I  take  it,  prompted  me  to  scratch 
with  my  toe  upon  the  leaden  frame  of  her  lattice.  For 
the  lass  was  mortally  afraid  of  ghosts,  so  I  pictured  to 
myself  that,  hearing  the  noise  at  the  window,  she  would 
take  it  for  the  scraping  of  an  evil  spirit  trying  to  find  a 
way  in,  and  forthwith  draw  the  clothes  over  her  head  and 
lie  trembling. 

Pleasing  myself,  therefore,  with  this  picture,  I  scraped 
away  and  laughed  within  myself  till  I  nearly  fell  from  the 
ladder.  Presently  I  heard  a  stirring  within  the  chamber, 
and  stopped  to  listen. 

"  She  has  her  head  under  the  clothes  by  now,"  I  said 
to  myself,  as  I  climbed  on  up  to  my  own  window,  which 


THE    LASS    OF   THE    WHITE   TOWEll  17 

I  found  unliasped,  even  as  I  had  left  it.  I  entered,  grip- 
ping the  edge  of  the  broad  sill  and  lifting  myself  over 
with  ease,  being  very  strong  of  the  forearm.  Indeed,  I 
had  won  a  prize  for  wrestling  at  the  fair  that  day,  in 
spite  of  my  youth — a  thing  which  I  intended  to  keep 
secret  till  Helen  Kennedy  should  taunt  me  with  being 
but  a  boy  and  feckless. 

It  chanced,  however,  that  I,  who  had  been  thus  victori- 
ous with  men  older  than  myself,  was  now  to  be  vanquished, 
conquered,  and  overset  by  one  who  was  two  years  younger, 
and  she  a  lassie.  Then,  being  safe  in  my  chamber,  I  began 
to  pull  up  the  ladder  of  cords  with  all  my  goods  and 
chattels  tied  at  the  end  of  it,  and  my  thoughts  were 
already  running  on  the  good  things  therein — cakes  and 
comfits,  sweetmeats,  some  bottles  of  Canary  wine,  and  gee- 
gaws  for  the  adorning  of  my  person  when  I  rode  forth  ; — 
the  latter  not  for  pride,  of  which  I  have  none,  but  in 
order  that  I  might  ride  in  a  good  squirely  fashion,  and  as 
became  the  gentleman  attendant  on  so  great  a  lord  as 
Sir  Thomas  Kennedy  of  Culzean,  Tutor  of  Cassillis, 
brother  of  the  late  and  uncle  of  the  present  Earl  of  that 
name. 

I  drew  up  my  rope-ladder  all  softly  and  with  success, 
because  from  the  stanchions  it  swung  clear  of  the  walls 
of  the  castle,  for  the  reason  that  my  turret  jutted  a  little 
Avay  over,  as  is  the  custom  with  towers  of  that  archi- 
tecture. And  so  all  went  well  till  my  bundle  came  oppo- 
site the  window  of  Helen  Kennedy's  room.  There  it 
was  suddenly  caught  and  gripped  tight,  so  that  I  could 
in  no  wise  pull  it  farther.  Nevertheless,  I  wrestled  with 
it  so  strongly,  even  as  I  had  done  with  grown  men  at 
Maybole,  till  the  cord  suddenly  gave  way,  and,  what  with 
the  stress  and  pith  of  the  pulling,  I  fell  blaff  on  my  back, 
hitting  my  head  upon  one  of  the  low  cross-beams  of  my 
little  chamberlet. 

This  made  me  very  angry  indeed  ;    but  I  leave  you  to 

2 


18  THE   GRAY   MAN 

judge  how  much  more  angered  I  was  when  I  found  the 
cords  of  my  rope-ladder  had  been  cleanly  severed  with  a 
knife,  and  that  my  bundle  and  all  it  contained  had  been 
foully  stolen  from  me. 

I  looked  out  of  the  window,  rubbing  my  sore  head  the 
while  with  my  hand. 

"Nell  Kennedy,"  I  called  as  loudly  as  I  dared,  "you 
are  nothing  but  a  thief  and  a  mean  thief !" 

The  lass  put  her  head  out  of  the  window  and  looked 
up  at  me,  so  that  her  hair  hung  down,  and  I  saw  the  soft 
lace  ruffle  of  her  night  apparel.  It  was  long  and  swayed 
in  the  wind,  being  of  a  golden-yellow  color.  (The  hair, 
I  am  speaking  of,  not,  by'r  Lady,  the  bed-gown. ) 

"Mistress  Helen  Kennedy  from  you,  sirrah,  if  you 
please  !"  she  said.  "What  may  be  the  business  upon 
which  Squire  Launce  Spurheel  ventures  to  address  his 
master's  daughter  ?" 

"  Besom  V  said  I,  taking  no  heed  of  her  tauntings, 
"thief,  graball,  give  me  back  my  bundle  !" 

My  heart  was  hot  within  me,  for  indeed  I  had  intended 
to  share  everything  with  her  in  the  morning,  if  only  she 
would  be  humble  enough  and  came  with  me  into  the 
cove.  Now  there  is  nothing  more  angering  than  thus  to 
be  balked  on  the  threshold  of  a  generous  action.  And, 
indeed,  I  was  not  given  to  the  doing  of  any  other  kind 
— though  often  enough  frustrated  of  my  intention  by  the 
illsetness  of  others. 

"  Thou  wast  a  noble  ghost,  Spurheel,"  she  cried,  mock- 
ing me.  "I  heard  thee  laughing,  brave  frightener  of 
girls  !  Well,  I  forgive  thee,  for  it  is  a  good  bundle  of 
excellent  devices  that  thou  hast  carried  for  me  all  the 
way  from  the  fair  at  Maybole.  Everything  that  I  craved 
for  is  here,  saving  the  brown  puggy  -  monkey  wrought 
with  French  pastry,  and  with  little  black  raisins  for  the 
eyes,  which  I  have  heard  of  yesterday !" 

"I  am  glad  I  ate  that  bv  the  wav,"  I  said,  in  order  to 


THE  LASS    OF   THE    WHITE   TOWEli  19 

have  some  amends  of  her ;  for,  indeed,  there  was  no  such 
thing  in  the  fair — at  least,  so  far  as  I  saw. 

''May  it  give  thee  twisty  thraws,  and  sit  ill  on  thy 
stomach,  Spurheel  V  she  cried  up  at  me.  For  at  six- 
teen she  was  more  careless  of  her  speech  than  a  herd  on 
the  hill  when  his  dogs  are  not  working  sweetly. 

Nevertheless  she  spoke  as  though  she  had  been  saying 
something  pleasant  and,  by  its  nature,  agreeable  to  hear. 

For  I  do  not  deny  that  the  lass  was  sometimes  jileasant- 
spoken  enough — to  others,  not  to  me  ;  and  that  ujion  oc- 
casion she  could  demean  herself  as  became  a  great  lady, 
which  indeed  she  was.  But  when  no  one  was  by,  then  I 
took  no  ill  tongue  from  her,  but  gave  as  good  as  I  got,  or 
maybe  a  kenning  better. 

I  could  hear  her  at  the  window  below,  taking  the  pack- 
ages out  of  the  bundle. 

''  Ye  have  good  taste  in  the  choice  of  cakes  !"  she  said, 
coming  to  the  window  again.  "The  sweetmeats  are 
most  excellent.     The  pastry  melts  in  the  mouth." 

As  she  looked  out  she  munched  one  of  the  well-raised 
comfits  I  had  bought  for  my  own  eating.  At  Culzean  we 
had  but  plain  beef  and  double  ale,  but  no  lack  of  these. 
Also  puddings,  black  and  white. 

"  See,  it  flakes  tenderly,  being  well  readied!"  she  cried 
up  at  me,  flipping  it  with  the  forefinger  of  her  right  hand 
to  shew  its  delicate  lightness.  She  held  the  cake,  in 
order  to  eat  it,  in  the  palm  of  her  left  hand. 

At  which,  being  angered  past  enduring,  I  took  up  an 
ornament  of  wood  which  had  fallen  from  the  back  of 
an  oak  chair,  and  threw  it  at  her.  But  she  ducked 
quickly  within,  so  that  it  went  clattering  on  the  rocks 
beneath. 

She  looked  out  again. 

"Ah — um — blunder-shot  I"  she  said,  mocking  me  with 
her  mouth.  "  Remember  you  are  not  shooting  at  a  ranti- 
pole  cockshy  at  Maybole  fair." 


20  THE   GEAY   MAK 

"  Give  me  my  property,"  I  replied,  with  some  dignity 
and  firmness,  "  else  in  the  morning  I  will  surely  tell  your 
father." 

"  Ay,  ay,"  cried  she,  "  even  tell  him  about  Maybole 
fair,  and  coming  homo  through  the  wood  with  your  arm 
round  the  waist  of  bonny  Kate  Allison,  the  Grieve's  lass  ! 
He  will  be  most  happy  to  hear  of  that,  and  of  the  other 
things  you  have  done  all  the  night.  Also  to  be  thy  fa- 
ther confessor  and  set  thy  penance  for  thy  deed!" 

"  It  is  a  lie  !"  I  said,  angry  that  Nell  Kennedy  should 
guess  so  discomfortably  near  to  the  truth. 

"  What  is  a  lie,  most  sweet  and  pleasant-spoken  youth?" 
she  queried,  with  a  voice  like  Mistress  Pussie's  velvet 
paws. 

"  The  matter  you  have  spoken  concerning  the  Grieve's 
lass.     I  care  nothing  for  girls  !" 

And  I  spoke  the  truth — at  the  moment — for,  indeed, 
there  were  things  bypast  I  was  now  sorry  for. 

She  went  in  and  exjilored  further  in  my  bundle,  while 
I  stood  at  the  upper  window  above  and  miscalled  her  over 
the  window-sill  as  loudly  as  I  dared.  Every  little  while 
she  ran  to  the  window  to  examine  something,  for  the  light 
was  now  coming  broad  from  the  east  and  flooding  the 
sea  even  to  the  far  blue  mountains  of  Arran  and  Can- 
tyre. 

'^Eibbons — and  belts — and  hatbands,  all  broidered  with 
silk!"  she  cried.  ''Was  ever  such  grandeur  known  in 
this  place  of  Culzean  ?  They  will  do  bravely  for  me, 
and,  besides,  they  will  save  thy  back  from  the  hangman 
and  the  cart-tail  whip.  For  thou,  Spurheel,  art  not  of 
the  quality  to  wear  such;  but  they  will  do  excellently 
for  the  pearling  and  ribboning  of  a  Baron's  daughter. 
Nevertheless,  heartily  do  I  applaud  your  taste  in  taffeta, 
Spurheel,  and  let  that  be  a  comfort  to  thee." 

"AVas  there  ever  such  a  wench  ?"  I  said  to  myself, 
stamping  my  foot  in  anger. 


THE    LASS    OF   THE   WHITE   TOWER  21 

Last  of  all  Nell  brought  to  the  window  the  three  bottles 
of  Canary  wine,  for  which  I  had  paid  so  dear. 

"  What  is  this  ?"  she  cried,  with  her  head  at  the  side  in 
her  masterful  cock-sparrow  way.  "  What  is  this  ?  Wine, 
wine  of  Canary — rotten  water  rather,  I  warranty  to  be 
sold  in  a  booth  at  a  fair  ?  At  any  rate,  wine  is  not  good 
for  boys,"  she  added,  "and  such  drabbled  stuff  is  not  for 
the  drinking  of  a  lady — wouldst  thou  like  it,  Spurheel  ?" 

She  ducked  in,  thinking  that  I  was  about  to  throw 
something  more  at  her,  which,  indeed,  I  scorned  to  do, 
besides  having  nothing  convenient  to  my  hand. 

"Look  you,  Squire  Launce,"  she  said,  again  crying 
from  the  window  without  setting  her  head  out,  "you 
are  something  of  a  marksman,  they  say.  There  never 
was  a  nonesuch  like  our  Spurheel  —  in  Spurheel's  own 
estimation.  But  I  can  outmark  him.  Fix  your  eye  on 
yon  black  rock  with  the  tide  just  coming  over  it — one, 
two,  and  three — " 

And  in  a  moment  one  of  my  precious  broad-bellied 
bottles  of  wine  played  clash  on  Samson's  reef,  two  hun- 
dred feet  below  the  White  Tower.  I  was  fairly  dancing 
now  with  anger,  and  threatened  to  come  down  my  rope- 
ladder  to  be  even  with  her.  Indeed,  I  made  the  cord 
ready  to  throw  myself  out  of  the  window  to  clamber 
down.  But  even  as  I  did  so  the  glaiked  maiden  sent  the 
other  two  jars  of  Canary  to  keep  company  with  the  first. 

Then  she  leaned  out  and  looked  up  sweetly,  holding 
the  sash  of  the  window  meantime  in  her  hand. 

"You  are  going  to  visit  my  father  in  the  morning 
doubtless  and  tell  him  all  about  the  bundle  and  the 
Crieve's  lass.  Good  speed  and  my  blessing  !"  she  cried, 
making  ready  to  shut  the  window  and  draw  the  bolt.  "I 
am  going  to  sleep  in  Marjorie's  room.  The  gulls  are  begin- 
ning to  sing.     I  love  not  to  hear  gabble,  yours  or  theirs  I" 

But  I  leave  you  to  guess  who  it  was  that  felt  himself 
the  greater  gull. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    SECOND    TAUNTING     OF     SPURHEEL 

Wow  I  shall  ever  affirm  that  there  was  not  in  all  this 
realm  of  Scotland  since  the  young  Queen  Mary  came  out 
of  France — of  whom  onr  grandfathers  yet  make  boast,  and 
rise  from  their  chairs  with  their  natural  strength  unabated 
as  they  tell — so  lovely  a  maid  as  Marjorie  Kennedy,  the 
elder  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas,  the  Tutor  of  Cassillis. 
Ever  since  I  came  to  the  house  of  Culzean  I  could  have 
lain  down  gladly  and  let  her  walk  over  me — this  even 
when  I  was  but  a  boy,  and  much  more  when  I  grew  nigh 
to  eighteen  and  had  all  the  heart  and  some  of  the  expe- 
rience of  a  man  in  the  things  of  love. 

And  how  the  lairds  and  knights  came  wooing  her  ! 
Ay,  even  belted  earls  like  Glencairn  and  Eglintoun!  But 
Marjorie  gave  them  no  more  than  the  bend  of  a  scornful 
head  and  the  waft  of  a  white  hand,  for  she  had  a  way  with 
her  that  moved  men's  brains  to  a  very  fantasy  of  desire. 

For  myself,  I  declare  that  when  she  came  down  and 
walked  in  the  garden,  I  became  like  a  little  waggling  puppy 
dog,  so  great  was  my  desire  to  attract  her  attention.  Yet 
she  spoke  to  me  but  seldom,  being  of  a  nature  as  noble 
as  it  was  reserved.  Silent  and  grave  Marjorie  Kennedy 
mostly  was,  with  the  lustre  of  her  eyes  turned  more  often 
on  the  far  sea  edges  than  on  the  desirable  young  men 
who  rode  their  horses  so  gallantly  over  the  greensward 
to  the  landward  gate  of  Culzean. 

But  it  is  not  of  Marjorie  Kennedy,  whom  with  all  my 
heart  I  worshipped  (and  do  worship,  spite  of  all),  that  I 


THE    SECOND    TAUNTING    OF    SPURHEEL  23 

have  at  this  time  most  to  telL  It  happened  on  this  clay- 
that  Late  in  the  afternoon  Sir  Thomas,  my  master,  came 
out  of  the  chamber,  where  ordinarily  he  did  his  business, 
and  commanded  me  to  prepare  his  arms,  and  also  bid  the 
grooms  have  the  horses  ready,  for  us  two  only,  at  seven 
of  the  clock. 

"  That  will  be  Just  at  the  darkening,"  I  said  ;  for  I 
thought  it  a  strange  time  to  be  setting  forth,  when  the 
country  was  so  unsettled  with  the  great  feud  between  the 
Kennedies  of  Cassillis  and  the  young  Laird  of  Bargany 
and  his  party. 

"Just  at  the  darkening,"  he  made  answer,  very  shortly 
indeed,  as  though  he  would  have  minded  me  that  time 
was  no  business  of  mine — which,  indeed,  it  was  not. 

So  I  oiled  and  snapped  the  pistolets,  and  saw  that  the 
swords  moved  easily  from  their  sheaths.  Thereafter  I 
prepared  my  own  hackbut  and  set  the  match  ready  in 
my  belt.  I  Avas  ever  particular  of  my  arms,  and  of  those 
of  my  lord  as  well,  for  I  prided  myself  on  never  having 
been  faulted  in  the  performing  of  my  duty,  however 
much  I  might  slip  in  other  matters  that  touched  not  mine 
honor  as  a  soldier. 

Once  or  twice,  as  I  rubbed  or  caressed  the  locks  with 
a  feather  and  fine  oil  thereon,  I  was  aware  of  a  lightly 
shod  foot  moving  along  the  passage  without.  I  knew 
well  that  it  was  the  lassie  Helen,  anxious,  as  I  judged,  to 
make  up  the  quarrel ;  or,  perhaps,  with  yet  more  evil 
in  her  heart,  wishful  to  try  my  temper  worse  than  be- 
fore. 

Presently  she  put  her  head  within  the  door,  but  I  stood 
with  my  back  to  her,  busy  with  my  work  at  the  window. 
I  would  not  so  much  as  look  up.  Indeed,  I  cared  noth- 
ing about  the  matter  one  way  or  the  other,  for  why 
should  a  grown  man  and  a  soldier  care  about  the  glaiks 
and  puppet-plays  of  a  lassie  of  sixteen  ? 

She  stayed  still  by  the  door  a  moment,  waiting  for  me 


24  THE    GRAY    MAN" 

to  notice  her.  But  I  did  not,  whereat  at  last  she  spoke. 
"  Ye  are  a  great  man  this  day,  Spurheel/'  she  said,  taunt- 
ingly. "  Did  ye  rowel  your  leg  yestreen  to  waken  ye  in 
time  to  bring  hame  the  Grieve's  lassie  ?' 

I  may  as  well  tell  the  origin  now  of  the  name  "  Spur- 
heel,"  by  which  at  this  time  she  ordinarily  called  me. 
It  was  a  nothing,  and  it  is  not  indeed  worth  the  telling. 
It  chanced  that  for  my  own  ]ourpose  I  desired  to  wake 
one  night  at  a  certain  time,  and,  because  I  was  a  sound 
sleeper,  I  tied  a  spur  to  my  heel,  thinking  that  with  a 
little  touch  I  should  waken  as  I  turned  over.  But  in 
the  night  I  had  a  dream.  I  dreamed  that  the  foul  fiend 
himself  was  riding  me,  and  I  kicked  so  briskly  to  dismount 
him  that  I  rowelled  myself  most  cruelly.  Thus  I  was 
found  in  the  morning,  lying  all  naked,  having  gashed  my- 
self most  monstrously  with  the  spur,  Avhich  has  been  a  tale 
against  me  with  silly  people  ever  since. 

Now  this  is  the  whole  tale  why  I  was  called  "  Spur- 
heel,"  and  in  it  there  was  no  word  of  the  Grieve's 
daughter;  —  though  Kate  Allison  was  a  bonny,  well- 
favored  lass  too,  and  that  I  will  maintain  in  spite  of 
the  gibes  of  Helen  Kennedy. 

"  I  will  bring  you  the  spoons  and  the  boots  also  to 
clean,*'  she  said,  "and  the  courtyard  wants  sweep- 
ing !" 

In  this  manner  she  often  spoke  to  me  as  if  I  had  been 
a  menial,  because  when  I  did  my  squire's  duty  with  the 
weapons  and  the  armor  I  would  not  let  her  so  much  as 
touch  them,  which  she  much  desired  to  do,  for  she  was 
by  nature  as  curious  about  these  things  as  a  boy. 

So  for  show  and  bravery  I  tried  the  edge  of  my  sword 
on  the  back  of  my  hand.  Nell  Kennedy  laughed 
aloud. 

"  Hairs  on  the  back  of  a  bairn's  hand  !"  quoth  she. 
"  Better  try  your  carving-knife  instead  on  the  back  of  a 
horse's  currying-comb  !" 


THE    SECOKU    TAUNTING    OF    SPURHEEL  25 

But  I  knew  when  to  be  silent,  and  she  got  no  satisfac- 
tion out  of  me.  And  that  was  ever  the  better  way  of  it 
with  her,  wlien  I  could  sufficiently  command  my  temper 
to  follow  mine  own  best  counsel. 

So  the  afternoon  wore  on,  and  before  it  was  over  I  had 
time  to  go  out  into  the  fields,  and  also  towards  evening 
to  the  tennis-court,  where,  to  recreate  myself,  I  played 
sundry  games  with  James  and  Alexander  Kennedy — good 
lads  enough,  but  even  better  at  that  ball  jilay  that  has  no 
powder  behind  it. 

At  the  gloaming  the  horses  were  ready  and  accoutred 
for  the  expedition.  The  Tutor  of  Cassillis  and  I  rode 
alone,  as  was  his  wont — so  great  was  his  trust  in  my 
courage  and  discretion,  though  my  years  were  not  many, 
and  (I  grant  it)  the  hairs  yet  few  on  my  chin.  It  was  still 
March,  and  the  bitter  winter  we  had  had  seemed  scarcely 
to  have  blown  itself  out.  So  that,  although  the  crows 
had,  a  week  before,  been  carrying  sticks  for  their  nesting 
in  the  Avoods  of  Culzean,  yet  now,  in  the  quick-  coming 
dark,  the  snowflakes  'were  again  whirling  and  spreading 
ere  they  reached  the  ground. 

As  we  rocle  through  the  courtyard  and  out  at  the  gate, 
I  heard  the  soft  pit-pat  of  a  foot  behind  us,  for  I  have  a 
good  ear.  I  heard  it  even  through  the  clatter  of  the  hoofs 
of  our  war-horses.  So  I  turned  in  my  saddle,  and  there 
behind  us  was  that  madcap  lass  Nell  Kennedy,  with  her 
wylicoats  kilted  and  a  snowball  in  her  hand,  which  she 
manifestly  designed  to  throw  at  me.  But  even  as  I  ducked 
my  head  the  ball  flew  past  me,  and  hit  Sir  Thomas's  horse 
Ailsa  on  the  rump,  making  him  curvet,  to  the  no  small 
discomfort  of  the  rider. 

''What  was  that,  think  ye,  Launcelot  ?"  my  master 
asked,  in  his  kindly  way. 

"  It  might  have  been  a  bat,"  I  made  answer  ;  for  it  was, 
at  least,  no  use  bringing  the  lassie  into  the  affair,  in  spite 
of  what  she  had  done  to  me  that  morning.     Besides,  I 


26  THE    GRAY    MAN 

could  find  out  ways  of  paying  my  debts  to  her  with- 
out the  telling  of  tales,  aiid  that  was  always  one  com- 
fort. 

"It  is  a  queer  time  of  year  for  bats,"  answered  Sir 
Thomas,  doubtfully.  But  ho  rode  on  and  said  no  more. 
I  kept  behind  him,  ducking  my  head,  and  appearing  to 
be  in  terror  of  another  snowball,  for  the  ground  was  now 
whitening  fast.  Nell  Kennedy  followed  after,  making  her 
next  ball  harder  by  pressing  it  in  her  hand.  So  we  went 
till  we  came  to  the  far  side  of  the  drawbridge  and  were 
ready  to  plunge  into  the  woodlands. 

Then  I  gave  the  whistle  which  tells  that  all  is  well  on 
the  landward  side,  and  is  the  signal  for  the  bridge  to  be 
raised.  Gabby  Gib-cat  heard,  and  obeyed  quickly,  as  he 
was  wont  to  do  when  his  master  was  not  far  away.  At 
other  times  he  was  lazy  as  the  hills. 

The  bridge  went  grinding  up,  and  therefore  the  Gib- 
cat  would  immediately,  as  I  knew,  stretch  himself  for  a 
sleep  by  the  fire.  So  there  I  had  Mistress  Nell  on  the  land- 
ward side  of  the  drawbridge  and  the  gate  up,  with  the 
snow  dancing  down  on  her  bare  head  and  her  coats  kilted 
for  mischief. 

I  lagged  a  little  behind  Sir  Thomas,  so  that  I  could 
say  to  Nell,  whose  spirits  were  a  little  dashed  by  the  rais- 
ing of  the  bridge:  "Step  down  to  the  water-side  and 
bring  up  the  three  bottles  of  Canary,  or  go  over  to  the 
farm  and  keep  the  Grieve's  lass  company.  She  may  per- 
chance be  lonely." 

So  waving  my  hand  and  laughing,  I  rode  off  and  left 
her  alone.  I  hoped  that  she  cried,  for  my  heart  was  hot 
within  me  because  of  the  good  things  on  which  I  had  ex- 
pended all  my  saving,  and  which  I  had  in  all  kindliness 
meant  to  share  with  her. 

Yet  we  had  not  reached  the  great  oak  in  the  park 
before  she  was  again  by  my  side. 

"Think  ye  I  canna  gang  up  the  ladder  in  the  White 


THE    SECOND    TAUNTING    OF    SPUEHEEL  27 

Tower  as  well  as  you,  Spurheel.     It  is  just  kilting  my 
coats  a  kennin'  liiirlicr  !" 

And  I  could  have  bitten  my  fingers  off  that  I  had  for- 
gotten to  pull  it  in  again  to  my  chamber.  For  in  the 
morning  I  had  mended  and  dropped  it,  not  knowing  when 
it  might  be  needed. 


■  CHAPTER  IV 
THE  INN  ON  THE  EED  MOSS 

And  now  to  telLof  sterner  business.  For  light-wit 
havering  with  a  lass  bairn  about  a  great  house  is  but  a 
small  part  of  the  purpose  of  my  story — though  I  can  take 
pleasure  in  that  also  when  it  chances  to  come  my  way, 
as  indeed  becomes  a  soldier. 

We  rode  on  some  miles  through  the  woods.  It  still 
snowed,  and  straying  flakes  disentangled  themselves  from 
among  the  branches  and  sprinkled  us  sjoarsely.  It  was 
eerie  as  the  night  closed  in,  and  we  heard  only  the  roar 
of  the  wind  above  us,  the  leafless  branches  clacking 
against  one  another  like  the  bones  of  dead  men. 

It  was  not  my  place  to  ask  whither  we  were  going,  but 
it  may  be  believed  that  I  was  anxious  enough  to  learn. 
By-and-by  we  struck  into  the  moorland  road  which  climbs 
over  the  Eed  Moss  in  the  direction  of  the  hill  that  is  called 
Brown  Carrick.  The  snow  darkness  settled  down,  and, 
but  that  once  I  had  been  friendly  with  a  lass  who  lived  in 
that  direction,  and  so  was  accustomed  to  night  travel  in 
these  parts,  I  could  scarce  have  known  whither  we  were 
going. 

But  I  understood  that  it  could  only  be  to  the  lonesome 
Inn  of  the  Red  Moss,  kept  by  Black  Peter,  that  Culzean 
was  making  his  way.  As  we  began  to  climb  the  moor 
Sir  Thomas  motioned  me  with  his  hand  to  ride  abreast  of 
him,  and  to  make  ready  my  weapons,  which  I  was  not 
loath  to  do,  for  I  am  no  nidderling  to  bo  afraid  of  powder. 
When  at  last  we  came  to  the  Inn  of  the  Red  Moss  there 


THE   INN    ON    THE    RED    MOSS  29 

Avere  lights  sliiniiig  in  the  windows,  and  looking  out  ruddy 
and  lowering  under  the  thatch  of  the  eaves.  It  was  ever 
an  uncanny  spot,  and  so  it  was  more  than  ever  now. 

But  for  all  that  the  Red  Moss  was  populous  as  a  bees' 
byke  that  night,  for  men  and  horses  seemed  fairly  to 
swarm  about  it.  Yet  there  was  no  jovial  crying  or  greet- 
ing between  man  and  man,  such  as  one  may  hear  any 
market-day  upon  the  plain-stones  of  Ayr. 

The  men  who  were  meeting  thus  by  dark  of  night  were 
mostly  men  of  quality  come  together  upon  a  dangerous 
and  unwholesome  ploy.  As  soon  as  I  saw  the  quality 
of  the  gentlemen  who  were  assembled,  I  knew  that  we 
had  come  to  a  gathering  of  the  heads  of  the  Cassillis 
faction.  Nor  was  it  long  before  I  saw  my  lord  himself, 
a  tall,  well-set  young  man,  inclining  to  stoutness,  and  of 
a  fair  complexion,  with  closely  cut  flaxen  hair. 

The  Laird  of  Culzean,  my  master,  lighted  down  and 
took  the  Earl  by  the  hand,  asking,  in  his  kindly  way, 

"  Is  it  well  with  you,  John  ?" 

For  in  his  minority  he  had  been  his  tutor  and  governor, 
and  in  after-years  had  agreed  well  with  him,  which  is  not 
common. 

"Aye,  Avell  with  me," replied  the  Earl;  "but  it  is  that 
dotard  fool  Kelwood  that  has  gotten  the  chest  of  gold 
and  jewels  which  in  my  father's  time  was  stolen  from  the 
house  of  Cassillis  by  Archibald  Bannatyne,  who  Avas  my 
father's  man.  He  died  in  my  father's  hands,  who  was  not 
a  cat  to  draw  a  straw  before.  Nevertheless,  even  in  the 
Black  Vault  of  Dunure  he  could  not  be  brought  to  reveal 
where  he  had  hidden  the  chest.  But  now  Kelwood,  or 
others  for  him,  has  gotten  it  from  Archie's  widow,  a 
poor  woman  that  knew  not  its  worth." 

"B-t  Kelwood  will  deliver  it,  John.  Is  he  not  your 
man  ?  Trouble  not  any  more  about  the  matter,"  coun- 
selled the  Tutor,  who  was  ever  for  the  milder  opinion, 
and  very  notably  wise  as  well  as  slow  in  judgment. 


30  THE    GRAl    MAiq" 

"  Nay,"  said  the  Eaii;  "  deliver  it  he  will  not,  for  Bar-' 
gany  and  Auchendrayne  have  gotten  his  ear,  and  he  has 
set  his  mansion  -  house  in  defence  against  us.  I  have 
called  you  here.  Tutor,  for  your  good  advice.  Shall  we 
levy  our  men  and  beset  Kelwood,  or  how  shall  we  proceed 
that  I  may  recover  that  which  is  most  justly  mine  own  ?" 

For  it  was  ever  the  bitterest  draught  to  the  Earl  to  lose 
siller  or  gear.  The  Tutor  stood  for  a  moment  by  his 
beast's  neck,  holding  his  head  a  little  to  one  side  in  a  way 
he  had  when  he  was  considering  anything,  a  trick  which 
his  daughter  Nell  has  also. 

"  How  many  are  ye  here  ?"  he  said  to  the  Earl. 

''We  are  fifteen,"  the  Earl  said. 

"  All  gentlemen  ?"  again  asked  the  Tutor. 

"All  cadets  of  mine  own  house,  and  ready  to  fight  to 
the  death  for  the  blue  and  gold  !"  replied  the  Earl,  giv- 
ing a  cock  to  the  bonnet,  in  the  side  of  which  he  had  the 
lilies  of  France  upon  a  rosette  of  blue  velvet,  which  (at 
that  time)  was  the  Cassillis  badge  of  war. 

As  he  spoke,  I,  who  stood  a  little  behind,  with  my 
finger  on  the  cock  of  my  pistol,  saw  my  lord  raise  a 
questioning  eyebrow  at  me,  as  if  to  ask  his  uncle  who 
the  young  squire  might  be  whom  he  had  brought  with 
him. 

"  He  is  the  son  of  John  Kennedy  of  Kirrieoch,  and 
with  us  to  the  death,"  said  my  master. 

For  which  most  just  speech  I  thanked  him  in  my 
heart. 

"  The  name  is  a  good  one,"  said  the  Earl,  with  a  little 
quaintish  smile.  And  well  might  he  say  so,  for  it  was 
his  own,  and  my  father  of  as  good  blood  as  he,  albeit 
of  a  younger  branch. 

Presently  we  were  riding  forth  again,  seventeen  men 
in  our  company,  for  the  Earl  had  not  counted  the  Tutor 
and  myself  in  his  numeration.  We  rode  clattering  and 
careless  over  the   moors  by  unfrequented  tracks  or  no 


THE    INJSr    ON    THE    RED    MOSS  31 

track  at  all.  As  we  went  I  could  hear  them  talkina: 
ever  about  the  treasure  of  Kelwood^  and  in  especial  I 
heard  a  strangC;,  daftlike  old  man,  whom  they  called  Sir 
Thomas  Tode,  tell  of  the  Black  Vault  of  Dunure,  and 
how  lands  and  gear  were  gathered  by  the  tortures  there. 
His  tales  and  his  manners  were  so  strange  and  unseemly 
that  I  vowed  before  long  to  take  an  opportunity  to  hear 
him  more  fully.     But  now  there  was  much  else  to  do. 

Betimes  we  came  to  the  tower  of  Kelwood,  and  saw 
only  the  black  mass  of  it  stand  up  against  the  sky,  with 
not  a  peep  of  light  anywhere.  Now,  as  you  may  judge, 
we  went  cannily,  and  as  far  as  might  be  we  kept  over 
the  soft  ground.  The  Tutor  bade  us  cast  a  comi^ass 
about  the  house,  so  that  we  might  make  ourselves  mas- 
ters of  the  fields,  and  thus  be  sure  that  no  enemy  was 
lying  there  in  wait  for  us.  But  we  encompassed  the 
place  and  found  nothing  alive,  save  some  lean  swine 
that  ran  snorting  forth  from  a  shelter  where  they  had 
thought  to  pass  the  night. 

Then  I  and  the  young  Laird  of  Gremmat,  being  the 
best  armed  and  most  active  there,  were  sent  forward  to 
spy  out  the  securest  way  of  taking  the  tower.  I  liked  the 
job  well  enough,  for  I  never  was  greatly  feared  of  danger 
all  my  days ;  and  at  any  rate  there  is  small  chance  of  dis- 
tinction sitting  one's  horse  in  the  midst  of  twenty  others 
in  an  open  field. 

So  Gremmat  and  I  went  about  the  house  and  about. 
It  was  not  a  castle  like  Dunure  or  Culzean,  with  tow- 
ers and  trenches,  but  only  a  petty  blockhouse.  And  I 
laughed  within  myself  to  think  of  such  a  bees'  byke  hav- 
ing the  mighty  assurance  to  dream  of  keeping  a  treasure 
against  my  Lord  Cassillis,  as  well  as  against  the  Tutor  of 
that  ilk  and  me,  his  squire. 

There  was  no  drawbridge,  nor  yet  so  much  as  a  ditch, 
about  Kelwood  Tower,  but  only  a  little  yett-house,  Avitli 
an  open  pend  or  passage,  that    gave  against  the   main 


32  THE   GRAY  MAIT 

wall  of  the  building.  Within  this  passage,  could  we  gain 
it,  I  knew  that  we  should  be  well  protected,  and  have 
time  to  burst  in  the  wall,  even  if  the  door  withstood  us. 
For  once  within  the  archway  I  could  not  see  how  it  was 
possible  for  those  in  the  house  to  reach  us  in  any  way 
to  do  us  harm. 

Gremmat  and  I  therefore  went  back  to  our  company 
with  the  news  ;  but  the  best  of  it — the  part  concerning 
the  yett-house  —  I  kept  to  myself.  For  the  Laird  of 
Gremmat,  though  a  tough  fighter,  was  not  a  man  of 
penetration,  so  that  I  well  deserved  the  right  of  telling 
what  I  alone  had  seen. 

When  I  told  the  chiefs  of  my  discovery,  my  Lord  of 
Cassillis  said  nothing,  but  turned  abruptly  to  the  Tutor, 
thinking  nothing  of  my  tidings  or  of  the  danger  I  had 
been  in  to  bring  them.  Nevertheless  Sir  Thomas,  my 
master,  turned  first  to  me,  as  was  his  kindly  custom. 

"It  is  well  done  of  you,  Launcelot.  The  sheep  herd- 
ing on  Kerrieoch  has  given  you  an  eye  for  other  things," 
he  said. 

And  at  that  I  think  the  Earl  gave  me  a  little  more  con- 
sideration, though  all  that  he  said  was  no  more  than, 
"  Well,  Tutor,  and  what  do  you  advise  ?" 

"I  think,"  said  the  Tutor,  "that  you  and  the  younger 
men  had  best  take  Launcelot's  advice,  and  conceal  your- 
selves in  the  pend  of  the  yett  -  house,  with  picks  and 
perhaps  a  mickle  tree  for  a  battering  -  ram,  Avhile  I  and 
a  trumpeter  lad  summon  Kelwood  himself  to  surrender. 
In  that  clump  of  trees  over  there  we  shall  be  out  of  reach 
of  their  matchlocks." 

So  the  Earl  took  the  advice,  and  in  a  little  we  were  in 
the  black  trough  of  the  pend,  with  an  iron-bolted  door  in 
front,  and  the  rough,  unhewn  stones  of  the  wall  on  either 
side  of  us. 

Then  the  Tutor's  trumpet  blew  one  rousing  blast,  and 
then  another,  till  wo  could  hear  the  stir  of  men  roused 


THE    INN    OK    THE    RED    MOSS  33 

out  of  their  sleep  in  the  tower  above  ns.  But  we  our- 
selves held  our  breaths  and  keeped  very  quiet. 

Once  more  the  trumpet  blow  from  the  clump  of  oak 
trees  over  against  the  main  gate. 

'MVho  may  ye  be  that  blaws  horns  in  the  Kelwood 
without  asking  leave  of  me  ?"  cried  a  voice  from  the  nar- 
row window  in  the  wall  above  us. 

And  my  master,  Sir  Thomas,  answered  him  from  the 
coppice  : 

"  It  is  I,  Kennedy  of  Culzean,  that  comes  from  your 
liege  lord  to  demand  the  treasure  that  is  his,  stolen  from 
his  house  by  his  false  servant,  and  now  reset  by  you. 
Laird  Currie  of  Kelwood." 

The  Laird  laughed  contumeliously  from  his  turret  win- 
dow. 

''An  the  Earl  wants  his  treasure,  let  him  come  and 
fetch  it,"  said  he. 

At  which  answer  it  was  all  that  Ave  could  do  to  keep 
the  Earl  quiet.  He  was  for  setting  the  squared  tree  to 
the  door  at  once. 

"Kelwood" — again  we  heard  the  voice  of  Sir  Thomas 
— "  I  ken  well  who  has  deceived  you  in  this  matter. 
Listen  to  no  glosing  words.  No  man  can  strive  with  the 
Kennedy  and  prosper  in  all  these  lands  ^twixt  Clyde  and 
Solway." 

"  Which  Kennedy  ?"  cried  Kelwood,  from  his  Avindow, 
fleeringly.  And  this  set  the  Earl  more  bitterly  against 
him  than  ever,  for  it  was  as  much  as  to  say  that  the  Bar- 
gany  Kennedies  were  equal  in  power  and  j)lace  to  his  OAvn 
House  of  Cassillis. 

''Lift  the  tree  and  to  it  !"  he  cried;  and  with  that, 
being  a  strong  man  of  his  own  body,  he  garred  a  great 
fore -hammer  dirl  against  the  iron  of  the  door.  And 
though  he  had  many  faults,  this  frowardnoss  should  be 
minded  to  him  for  good.  Then  there  Avas  a  noise  in- 
deed; coulters  and  fore-hammers  dinging  merrily  against 


34  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

the  door^  while  from  aloft  came  shouts  and  the  rolling  of 
heavy  stones  down  about  us.  But  by  my  strategy  there 
was  not  one  came  near  to  hurting  us.  The  defenders 
might  have  been  so  many  sparrows  fyling  the  roof,  for 
all  the  harm  they  did  to  us.  But,  nevertheless,  they 
banged  away  their  powder  and  shouted.  We  that  were 
with  the  Earl  shouted  none,  but  kept  dourly  to  our  work. 
Stark  and  strong  was  the  bolted  door  of  Kelwood,  and 
all  the  might  of  our  men  could  do  it  no  injury,  nor  so 
much  as  shake  the  hinges.  It  must  have  been  the  work 
of  a  deacon  among  the  hammer-men. 

But  I  felt  that  we  were  against  the  wall  of  the  kitchen, 
for  one  side  of  the  passage  was  warm  on  my  right  hand, 
and  the  other  clammy  and  cold.  So  I  cried  on  them  to 
leave  the  door  and  jjull  down  the  stones  of  the  jamb 
on  my  right.  Then,  since  I  had  given  them  good  advice, 
and  they  knew  that  I  was  of  the  household  of  the 
wise  man  of  Culzean,  they  were  the  more  ready  to  take 
the  counsel,  though  they  thanked  me  not  a  word,  but 
only  lifted  the  tree  and  drave  at  it. 

"  Make  first  a  hole  with  the  crowbars,"  said  I.  "  Pull 
down  the  stones ;  they  are  set  without  lime  under  the 
harling." 

So  they  did  it,  and  we  found  the  first  part  of  the  wall, 
as  I  had  said,  not  difficult  of  conquest ;  but  the  inner, 
being  cemented  with  shell  lime,  was  like  adamant. 
Therefore  with  a  shout  we  set  the  tree  to  it,  swinging  it 
in  our  hands.  After  many  attempts  we  sent  the  butt  of 
it  crushing  through  ;  and  then,  before  the  enemy  could 
come  to  the  threatened  place,  we  had  made  a  hole  large 
enough  for  a  man  to  enter  on  his  hands  and  knees.  I 
was  leaping  forward  to  be  first  within,  but  Gremmat  got 
in  front  of  me  and  crawled  through.  Whereat  the  Laird 
of  Kelwood  himself  came  at  him  with  his  gun,  and  shot 
him  in  the  kernel  of  the  thigh,  so  that  he  dropped  in  a 
heap  on  the  floor,  and  was  ever  thereafter  unable  of  his 


THE    I]>f]Sr    ON   THE    RED    MOSS  35 

legs.  But  I  that  came  second  (and  right  glad  was  I  then 
that  I  had  not  been  first)  rose  and  set  my  point  at  Kel- 
wood,  for  he  was  tangled  up  with  the  reeking  musket. 
I  had  him  pierced  before  ever  he  had  time  to  draAV,  and 
was  set  in  defence  for  the  next  that  might  come,  when 
the  Earl  and  the  other  gentlemen  came  rushing  past  us 
both,  and  completely  invaded  the  place  of  Kelwood,  so 
that  all  within  it  immediately  surrendered. 

Then  the  Earl  was  like  a  man  gone  mad  to  find  the 
chest,  and  questioned  the  Laird,  who,  as  was  somewhat 
natural,  could  do  nothing  but  groan  on  the  floor,  with 
my  sword  thrust  through  his  shoulder.  But  in  a  little 
they  found  the  box  in  a  cunning  wall -press  under  his 
bed,  where  it  could  not  be  reached  except  by  moving  the 
whole  couch  from  its  place  and  sliding  a  panel  back — 
which  being  done,  the  secret  cavity  was  made  plain. 

It  had  been  a  harder  task  to  transport  young  Gremmat 
back  with  us  than  it  was  to  take  the  treasure, — which 
was  in  a  small  enough  comjiass,  though  heavy  beyond 
belief.  But  after  going  a  mile  or  two  we  left  the  young 
wildcap  at  the  house  of  a  good  and  safe  man,  who  made 
himself  bound  to  the  Earl  for  his  keeping  till  he  was 
wliole  of  his  wound. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE   THEOTVINCt    OF   THE   BLOODY   DAGGER 

INDEED,  it  had  been  no  likeable  job  to  deny  Cassillis 
that  night.  For  with  the  fighting,  the  treasure,  and  the 
reproaches  of  Kelwood,  Avhom  he  could  hardly  be  kept 
from  finishing  Avith  his  own  hand,  his  spirit  was  apt  for 
wars  and  stratagems, — all  the  more  that  he  himself  had 
as  yet  little  experience  of  blows  or  the  smart  of  wounds. 
Kelwood  we  left  with  those  of  his  dependants  that  had 
been  in  the  tower  with  him.  His  wound  proved  not  so 
serious  as  it  might  have  been,  and  in  a  month  he  was 
safe  with  the  Laird  of  Kerse, — which  thing  occasioned 
a  most  bitter  quarrel  between  Cassillis  and  the  Crauf ords, 
as  indeed  hereafter  ye  shall  hear. 

It  was  already  graying  for  the  dawn  when  we  reached 
the  House  on  the  Eed  Moss.  Black  Peter  was  at  the 
door,  and  within  the  kitchen  a  large  fire  was  blazing, 
which,  because  the  night  was  chill,  and  the  sweat  of 
fighting  hardly  yet  well  dried  on  us,  we  were  right  glad 
to  see.  We  laid  down  the  chest  in  a  little  trance  at  the 
back  of  the  kitchen,  setting  it  upon  an  oatmeal  ark  Avhich 
stood  there. 

Black  Peter  went  out  to  hold  our  horses  while  we 
talked  together,  and  left  his  daughter,  a  well-favored 
lass  of  about  my  own  years  or  thereby,  to  wait  upon  us. 
So  meeting  the  lass  in  the  dusk  of  the  trance,  on  pretext 
of  seeing  that  the  treasure  was  safe,  I  took  occasion  of  a 
kiss  of  her  —  not  that  I  liked  it  overmuch,  or  that  her 
favors  were  precious,  but  because   such  like   is  held  a 


THE   TIIROWIXG    OF   THE    BLOODY    DAGGER  37 

soldier's  privilege  at  an  inn,  and  no  more  to  be  disre- 
garded than  the  reckoning ; — indeed,  somewhat  less. 

But  the  wench  dang  me  soundly  on  the  ear  for  it,  so 
that  my  head  echoed.  Yet  I  liked  her  better  of  that, 
because  it  made  the  adventure  something  worth  attempt- 
ing again. 

"  Go,"  she  said,  "grow  your  beard  before  ye  set  up  to 
kiss  women.  I  would  as  soon  kiss  the  back  of  my  hand 
as  a  man  Avanting  the  beard  to  his  face." 

Thus  she  gave  me  also  the  woman's  buffet  of  the 
tongue,  and  I  could  have  answered  her,  and  well  too,  but 
that  I  saw  behind  me  my  Lord  Cassillis  himself,  and  right 
heartily  he  was  laughing, — which,  I  do  admit,  disconcert- 
ed me  no  little,  and  brought  me  to  silence. 

"Ah,  lad,"  he  said,  "have  ye  not  learned  from  your 
experience  of  this  night  that  women  are  just  like  castles  ? 
Ye  must  reconnoitre  them  circumspectly  before  ye  can 
hope  to  take  them  by  direct  assault." 

He  went  by,  giving  me  a  clap  on  the  shoulder,  as  one 
that  had  sympathy  both  with  the  winning  of  castles  and 
of  women.  And  I  think  he  liked  me  none  the  worse  for 
it  in  the  long-run.  But  I  hoped  that  he  would  not  make 
a  jest  of  it,  nor  tell  the  Tutor  of  the  matter.  For  my 
master.  Sir  Thomas  of  Culzean,  being  a  grave  man  and 
reverend,  was  not  apt  to  look  u^Don  the  follies  of  youth 
with  so  kindly  and  comprehending  an  eye. 

Within  the  kitchen  of  the  Inn  of  the  Eed  Moss  there 
was  routh  of  liquor,  and  all  the  Cassillis  faction  were 
gathered  there  quaffing  and  pledging  one  another.  They 
were  flushed  with  their  success,  and  several  were  even 
keen  for  assaulting  some  of  the  Bargany  strongholds  at 
once. 

But  the  Tutor  cautioned  them. 

"  Mind  what  ye  do.  Young  Bargany  is  as  a  lion  com- 
pared to  that  braying  ass  we  left  groaning  behind  us  at 
Kelwood  ;  and  John  Muir  of  Auchendrayne  has  at  once 


38  THE    GRAY    MAN" 

the  wisest  head  and  the  evilest  heart  in  all  this  broad 
Scotland.  Be  patient  and  abide.  We  have  gotten  the 
treasure.     Let  us  be  content  and  wait." 

"Ay,  and  by  waiting  give  them  the  next  score  in  the 
game  !"  said  the  young  Earl,  scornfully, — for  he,  too,  was 
hot  with  success. 

vSo  they  stood  about  the  kitchen  with  drinking-cups  of 
horn  in  their  hands,  while  the  Earl  unfolded  a  plan  of  the 
great  house  of  Bargany,  and  began  to  explain  how  it 
might  be  taken. 

"But,"  he  said,  "we  must  wait  till  by  some  overt  and 
considered  act  of  war  Bargany  gives  me  the  chance  to 
execute  justice  within  my  Balliary  of  Carrick,  as  is  my 
legal  right.  Then  swiftly  we  shall  strike  before  that 
Bargany  can  reach  us  with  the  sword,  or  John  Muir  of 
Auchendrayne  foil  us  by  getting  at  the  King  with  his 
fox's  cunning." 

Hardly  were  the  words  out  of  his  mouth  when  a  silence 
fell  upon  us.  The  Earl  ceased  speaking,  and  inclined  his 
head  as  though,  like  the  rest  of  us,  he  were  hearkening 
eagerly  for  the  re^Deating  of  a  sound. 

Then  we  who  listened  with  him  heard  something  that 
was  like  the  clattering  of  a  horse's  feet  at  a  gallop,  which 
came  nearer  and  nearer.  There  arose  a  cry  from  the 
front  of  the  house,  that  Avild,  shrill  scream,  the  unmis- 
takable parting  cry  of  a  man  stricken  to  death  with  steel. 
Then  broke  forth  about  the  Inn  of  the  Ked  Moss  the 
rush  of  many  horses  snorting  with  fear  and  fleeing  every 
way,  the  while  we,  that  were  in  the  house,  stood  as  it  had 
been  carved  in  stone,  so  swift  and  unexpected  was  this 
thing. 

The  Earl  remained  by  the  table  in  the  centre  with  his 
hand  still  on  the  plan  of  the  house  of  his  enemy.  Sir 
Thomas  was  still  bending  down  to  look,  when  all  sud- 
denly the  glass  of  the  window  crashed,  and  a  missile  came 
flashing  through,  thrown  by  a  strong  man's  hand.    It  fell 


C 


o 


s   > 


CO 

CO 

M 

o 

w 
B 

I— I 


THE   THROWING    OF   THE    BLOODY    DAGGER  39 

with  a  ring  of  iron  across  the  paper  that  was  outspread 
on  the  table.  It  was  a  dagger  heavily  hilted  with  silver. 
But  what  thrilled  me  with  fear  was  that  the  blade  of  it 
was  red  nearly  to  the  hilt,  and  distilled  fresh  drijDping 
blood  upon  the  chart. 

Then  was  heard  from  without  something  that  sounded 
like  a  man  laughing, — but  as  of  a  man  that  had  been 
long  time  in  hell, — and  again  there  came  the  galloping 
of  a  single  horse^s  feet. 

The  first  in  all  the  house  to  run  to  the  door  was  no 
other  than  the  young  lass  I  had  tried  to  kiss.  She  flung 
the  door  open  and  ran  to  a  dark,  huddled  thing,  which 
lay  across  the  paving-stones  of  the  little  causeway  in 
front  of  the  inn. 

"  My  father — oh,  they  have  slain  my  father  !"  she  cried. 

We  that  were  within  also  rushed  out  by  the  front  door, 
forgetting  all  else,  and  filled  with  dread  for  what  we 
might  see. 

The  dawn  was  coming  red  from  the  east,  and  there  in 
the  first  fiush  of  it  lay  Black  Peter,  plain  to  be  seen,  a 
dark  tide  sluggishly  welling  from  his  side,  and  his  young 
daughter  trying  pitifully  to  stanch  it  with  the  bit  laced 
napkin  wherewith  she  had  bound  her  hair  to  make  her 
pleasant  in  the  men's  eyes. 

When  Peter  of  the  Red  Moss  saw  the  Earl,  he  tried  to 
raise  himself  upon  his  elbow  from  the  ground.  One 
feeble  hand  went  waveringly  to  his  head  as  if  to  remove 
his  bonnet  in  the  presence  of  his  chief. 

Cassillis  sank  on  his  knees  beside  him  and  took  the 
hand.  There  was  a  fragment  of  a  leather  rein  still  clasped 
in  it,  cut  with  a  clean  slicing  cut. 

"  Peter,  Peter,  poor  man,  who  has  done  this  to  you  ?" 
he  asked. 

The  man  that  was  about  to  die  turned  his  eyes  this 
way  and  that. 

''My  lord,  my  lord,"  he  said,  struggling  with  the  chok- 


40  THE    GRAY    MAN" 

iug  blood  that  rose  in  his  throat,  '^it  was — it  was — the 
gray  man — " 

And  the  Earl  listened  for  more  with  his  own  ear  down 
to  Peter's  month,  hnt  the  spirit  of  the  man  who  had  died 
for  his  master  ebbed  dumbly  away  without  another  word. 
So  there  was  nothing  left  for  us  to  do  but  to  carry  him 
in,  and  this  we  did  in  the  young  sunshine  of  a  pleas- 
ant morning.  And  the  maid  washed  and  streeked  him, 
moaning  and  crooning  over  him  piteously,  as  a  dove  does 
that  wanteth  company. 

I  went,  as  it  happed,  into  the  trance  to  fetch  her  a  basin 
of  clear  water.     The  top  of  the  meal  ark  stood  empty  ! 

"  My  lord — the  chest !"  I  cried,  and  all  save  the  maid 
alone  rushed  in.  The  treasure  of  Kelwood  was  gone  ! 
Without  the  door,  on  the  trampled  clay  and  mud,  there 
were  the  steads  of  naked  feet  many  and  small.  But  of 
the  treasure-chest  for  which  we  had  ventured  so  much 
that  night,  we  saw  neither  hilt  nor  hair,  clasp  nor  band. 

Only  in  the  kitchen  of  the  House  on  the  Eed  Moss 
there  was  a  dead  man  and  a  maid  mourning  over  him ; 
on  the  table  a  dagger,  red  to  the  guard,  and  from  it  fell 
slowly  the  drip  of  a  man's  life-blood  blotting  out  with 
a  bitter  scorn  the  plans  of  our  wisest  and  the  enmity  of 
our  proudest. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE    CKOWN"    OF   THE    CAUSEWAY 

I  RODE  forth  from  Edinburgh  town  with  infinite  glee 
and  assurance  of  spirit.  No  longer  could  I  be  slighted 
as  a  boy,  for  that  day  I,  even  I,  Launcelot  Kennedy, 
had  been  put  to  the  horn, — that  is,  I  had  been  proclaimed 
rebel  and  outlaw  at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh  with  three 
blasts  of  the  King's  horn  :  "Against  John,  Earl  of  Cas- 
sillis.  Sir  Thomas  of  Culzean,  called  the  Tutor  of  Cassillis, 
and  Launcelot  Kennedy,  his  esquire  !"  So  had  run  the 
proclamation.  I  wondered  what  that  unkempt,  ill- 
tongued  lassie,  Nell  Kennedy,  would  say  to  this.  But 
the  honor  itself  even  she  could  not  gainsay. 

It  is  true  that  there  were  others  forfaulted  as  well  as  I, 
— the  Earl  himself,  that  is  a  sitter  in  the  King's  counsel 
board ;  Sir  Thomas,  my  master,  and,  indeed,  all  that  had 
any  hand  in  the  great  contest  in  the  High  Street  of  Edin- 
burgh. How  close  had  every  leal  burgess  kept  within- 
doors that  day  and  screamed  for  the  watch !  How  the 
town  guard  sequestered  themselves  safe  behind  bars  and 
were  very  quiet,  for  there  was  hardly  a  man  to  be  seen 
from  the  Castle  to  Holyrood  House  that  was  not  a  Ken- 
nedy, and  trying  to  kill  some  other  Kennedy,— as  indeed 
is  ever  the  way  with  our  name  and  clan. 

We  of  Cassillis  had  ridden  hot-foot  to  Edinburgh  to 
denounce  the  Bargany  faction  to  the  King  in  the  matter 
of  the  treasure  and  the  killing  of  Black  Peter.  Not  that 
we  knew  for  certain  that  it  was  Bargany  who  had  any 
hand  in  the  murder  and  reiving.     But  it  was  necessary 


45  THE   GKAY    MAN 

to  make  a  bold  face  for  it,  and  at  all  events  we  knew 
that  the  thing  had  been  done  in  Bargany's  interests.  So 
we  went,  all  prejoared  to  declare  that  the  active  criminal 
was  Bargany's  brother,  Thomas  of  Drummnrchie,  a  bold 
and  desperate  villain,  who  had  been  outlawed  for  years 
for  many  a  crime  besides  murder  in  all  its  degrees.  Also 
we  hojjed  that  if  the  King  were  in  a  good  humor  towards 
us  of  Cassillis,  who  were  always  the  men  of  loyalty  and 
peace,  he  might  even  attaint  Bargany  himself.  So  that 
our  Earl,  being  the  Bailzie  or  chief  ruler  of  Carrick  under 
the  King,  might  get  his  will  of  his  house  foe  and  thus 
put  an  end  to  the  quarrel.  For  there  was  no  other  hope 
of  peace  but  that  our  enemies  should  be  laid  waste. 

But  we  found  King  James  in  aught  but  a  yielding 
mood.  The  ministers  of  Edinburgh,  and  in  esjDecial  one 
Mr.  Eobert  Bruce,  a  man  of  very  great  note,  and  once  a 
prime  favorite  with  the  King,  had  been  setting  themselves 
against  his  will.  So  at  first  we  got  little  satisfaction,  and 
it  did  not  help  matters  that  on  the  second  day  of  our 
visit  the  Bargany  Kennedies  and  Mures  rode  into  the 
town  in  force  —  all  sturdy  men  from  the  landward 
parts  of  Carrick,  while  we  were  mostly  slighter  and  lim- 
berer  lads  from  the  side  of  it  that  looks  towards  the 
sea. 

The  next  day,  as  I  went  down  the  Canongate  with  the 
gold  lilies  of  Cassillis  on  my  cocked  bonnet,  I  declare 
that  nearly  every  third  man  I  met  was  a  Bargany  lout, 
swaggering  with  his  silly  favor  of  red  and  white  in  his 
cap.  But,  for  all  that,  I  ruffled  it  right  bravely  in  despite 
of  them  all,  letting  no  man  cock  his  feather  at  me.  For 
I  had  a  way,  which  I  found  exceedingly  irritating  to 
them,  of  turning  the  skirt  of  my  blue  French  cloak  over 
my  shoulder  when  I  met  one  of  the  other  faction,  as  if 
I  feared  defilement  from  the  contact  of  their  very  gar- 
ments. This  I  did  with  all  the  underlings  —  ay,  even 
with  Mure  of  Cloncaird.     Indeed,  I  had  already  had  my 


TUE    CEOWN    OF   THE    CAUSEWAY  43 

long  sword  three  times  out  of  its  sheath  by  the  time  I 
got  to  tlie  guard-house  at  Ilolyrood. 

It  was  just  there  that  I  met  young  Bargany  himself, 
coming  direct  from  the  King's  presence.  But  I  practised 
my  pleasantry  not  with  him.  For  a  more  kingly-looking 
man  did  I  never  see — ^far  beyond  our  Earl  (shame  be  to 
me  for  saying  such  a  thing  I),  and,  indeed,  before  any 
man  that  ever  I  saw.  For  Gilbert  Kennedy  of  Bargany 
was  the  bravest  man  that  was  to  be  gotten  in  any  land, 
as  all  men  that  saw  him  in  his  flower  do  to  this  day  admit. 
And  hearts  were  like  water  before  him. 

He  was  of  his  stature  tall  and  well  made,  with  a  com- 
plexion black  but  comely,  noble  on  horseback,  and  a 
master  both  of  arms  and  at  all  pastimes.  And  when  I 
beheld  him  it  came  upon  me  to  salute  him  —  which, 
though  I  had  small  intention  thereof  till  I  saw  him,  I  did. 
It  was  with  some  surprise,  perceiving,  no  doubt,  the  Earl's 
colors,  that  he  returned  my  greeting,  and  that  very  gra- 
ciously. The  moment  after  I  looked  about  me,  and  right 
glad  I  was  to  observe  that  none  of  our  folk  had  been  in 
the  place  before  the  palace  to  observe  my  salutation. 

After  this  we  of  Cassillis  went  in  parties  of  three  or 
four,  and  our  swords  were  in  our  hands  all  the  day,  in 
spite  of  the  watch  —  ay,  in  spite  even  of  the  King's 
Guard,  which  His  Majesty  had  sent  to  keep  the  peace 
when  he  himself  had  gone  off  to  Linlithgow  in  the  sulks, 
as  at  this  time  was  oft  his  silly  wont. 

For  me,  I  went  chiefly  with  Sir  Thomas,  my  master,  as 
was  my  duty ;  but  being  allowed  to  choose  my  compan- 
ion, I  chose  iluckle  Hugh,  from  Kirriemore,  which 
marches  with  mine  own  home  of  Kirrieoch  on  Minnoch- 
side.  Hugh  was  the  strongest  man  in  all  Carrick,  and 
had  joined  the  command  chiefly  for  the  love  of  me — be- 
cause he  had  once  herded  sheep  for  us,  and  my  mother 
had  been  kind  to  him  and  given  him  new  milk  instead 
of  skim  for  his  porridge. 


44  THE    GRAY    MAN" 

And  I  warrant  you  when  the  two  of  us  took  the  crown 
of  the  causeway,  we  stepped  aside  for  no  man,  not  even 
for  Bargany  and  his  brother  Drummurchie,  had  Ave  seen 
them  (which  by  good  luck  we  never  did).  But  others 
we  saw  in  plenty.  It  was  "  Bargany  thieves  !"  "  Cassillis 
cairds  !"  as  we  cried  one  to  the  other  across  the  street. 
And  the  next  moment  there  we  were,  ruffling  and  strut- 
ting like  game-cocks,  foot -to -foot  in  the  midst  of  the 
causeway,  neither  willing  to  give  way.  Then  "  Give  them 
iron  !"  would  be  the  cry;  and  in  a  clapping  of  hands 
there  would  be  as  pretty  a  fight  as  one  might  wish  to 
see — till,  behold,  in  a  gliff,  there  on  the  cobble-stones  was 
a  man  stretched,  and  all  workmanly  completed  from  be- 
ginning to  end,  while  the  clock  of  St.  Giles's  was  jangling 
the  hour  of  noon. 

For  the  matter  of  the  killing  of  Black  Peter,  and  the 
way  that  lassie  his  daughter  held  his  head  as  she  washed 
him,  abode  with  us,  and  made  our  hearts  hot  against  the 
Barganies  —  that  is,  the  hearts  of  the  younger  of  us. 
For  I  wot  well  that  the  elders  thought  more  of  the  lost 
box  of  treasure  than  of  many  men's  lives  far  more  famous 
and  necessary  than  that  of  poor  Black  Peter,  who  died  in 
his  duty  at  the  house  door  of  the  Red  Moss — and  that  is 
not  at  all  an  ill  death  to  die. 

But  there  came  a  day  when  the  ill  blood  drew  to  a  head. 
It  was  bound  to  come,  because  for  weeks  the  two  factions 
of  us  Kennedies  had  been  itching  to  fly  at  each  other's 
throats.  The  Barganies  mostly  lodged  together  in  the 
lower  parts  of  the  town  beneath  the  Nether  Bow,  in  order 
to  keep  us  away  from  the  King  when  he  was  at  Holyrood 
House,  and  also  to  be  near  tlie  haunts  of  those  loose  char- 
acters of  the  baser  sort  with  whom,  as  was  natural,  they 
chiefly  consorted. 

We,  on  our  part,  dwelled  in  the  upper  portion  of  the 
town,  in  the  well-aired  Lawnmarket  and  in  the  fashionable 
closes  about  the  Bow-head.     For  none  of  us,  so  far  as  I 


THE   CROWN    OF   THE    CAUSEWAY  45 

knew,  desired  to  mix  or  to  mell  with  loose  company  — 
save,  an'  it  might  be,  the  Earl  himself.  That  being  "  the 
cnstom  and  privilege  of  the  nobility,"  as  Morton  said  to 
his  leman  when  he  wished  to  change  her  for  another. 

Now,  we  had  among  us  of  our  company  one  Patrick 
Wishart,  an  indweller  in  Irvine  and  a  good  fighter.  He 
was  an  Edinburgh  man  born,  and  knew  all  the  town — 
every  lane  and  street,  every  bend  and  bow,  every  close 
and  pend  and  turning  in  it.  He  also  knew  that  which 
was  even  more  valuable  :  where  the  King's  Guard  were, 
and  to  shut  them  up  till  we  had  done  our  needs  upon  our 
foes.  He  was  well  advised,  besides,  where  each  of  the 
leaders  among  the  Barganies  dwelt. 

On  the  day  appointed  the  Earl  gave  us  all  a  meeting- 
place  by  the  back  of  St.  Giles's  High  Kirk,  beneath  the 
wall  of  the  Tolbooth.  And  there  we  mustered  at  ten  of 
the  clock  one  gay  morning.  It  was  a  windy  day,  and, 
spite  of  the  sun,  the  airs  blew  shrewdly  from  the  eastern 
sea,  as  is  their  use  and  wont  all  the  year  in  the  High 
Street  of  Edinburgh. 

Now  our  young  Earl  had  ever  plenty  of  siller,  though 
afterwards  he  parted  with  it  but  seldom.  Yet  for  the 
furtherance  of  his  cause  he  had  spent  it  lavishly  during 
these  days  in  Edinburgh,  so  that  all  the  common  orders 
in  our  upper  part  of  the  town  held  him  to  be  the  greatest 
man  and  the  best  that  ever  lived.  And  as  for  the  vices 
he  showed,  they  were  easy,  popular  ones,  such  as  common 
folk  readily  excuse  and  even  approve  in  the  great  —  as 
women,  wine,  and  such  like. 

So  as  we  swung  down  the  street  all  the  windows  of 
the  armorers'  shops  in  the  booths  about  the  Kirk  of  St. 
Giles  were  opened,  and  as  many  as  desired  it  were  sup- 
plied with  spears  and  pikes  and  long-handled  Highland 
axes,  each  with  a  grajipling-hook  at  the  back,  such  like 
as  had  brought  many  a  good  knight  down  at  the  Red 
Ilarlaw, 


46  THE   GRAY    MAN 

And  these  were  afterwards  a  great  advantage  to  us,  for 
tliougli  we  were  much  fewer  in  numbers,  yet  we  had  longer 
weapons  of  assault  and  also  the  upper  side  of  the  street 
to  fight  from. 

Then  we  sallied  forth,  crying,  "A  Kennedy  !"  And  the 
streets  were  lined  to  see  us  go  by,  many  a  douce  burgher's 
wife,  knowing  our  good  intentions  and  our  not  company- 
ing  with  the  riotous  troublers  of  the  town,  but  rather, 
when  we  could  compass  it,  with  honest,  sonsy  women, 
giving  us  her  blessing  from  an  upper  window. 

Patrick  Wishart  advised  that  we  should  stop  up  all  the 
alleys  and  closes  as  far  down  as  the  Blackfriar's  Wynd 
with  barricadoes  of  carts,  barrels^  and  puncheons,  to  pre- 
vent the  enemy  sallying  forth  upon  us  from  behind.  It 
was  a  good  thought,  and  but  for  a  foe  without,  whom  we 
knew  not  how  to  reckon  with,  it  had  been  completely 
successful.  Down  by  the  Nether  Bow,  where  the  street 
narrows,  was  the  place  where  we  first  saw  the  misleared 
Bargany  faction  drawn  across  the  street  to  resist  us  and 
contemn  the  King's  authority. 

"When  we  observed  them  we  gave  a  mighty  shout  and 
heaved  our  weapons  into  the  air,  that  they  might  see  the 
excellence  of  our  arming.  They  sent  a  shout  back  again, 
and  I  saw  in  front  of  their  array  Bargnny  himself  with  a 
casque  on  his  head,  the  sun  glinting  the  while  on  a  steel 
cuirass  which  covered  him  back  and  front.  Then  I  gave 
the  word  to  blow  up  the  matches ;  for  by  this  time  I  was 
well  kenned  for  a  good  soldier  and  proper  marksman,  and 
had  by  my  lord  himself  been  put  over  the  hackbuttmen, 
which  was  a  great  honor  for  one  so  young.  Thus  we 
advanced  to  the  onset.  But  first  my  Lord  of  Cassillis, 
going  to  the  front,  cried  to  Kennedy  of  Bargany  to  know 
why  he  withstood  him  in  the  highway  of  the  King's 
principal  town. 

"Because  ye  have  lied  concerning  me  to  the  King. 
Because  ye  have  slain  my  men,  liated  my  race,  and  sought 


THE    CROAVN    OF   THE    CAUSEWAY  47 

to  bring  mo  to  my  death  !"  answered  back  young  Bar- 
gany,  in  a  clear,  high  voice. 

"  Ye  lie,  man  !  Have  at  you  with  the  sword  !'  cried 
our  Earl,  who  was  never  a  great  man  with  his  tongue, 
though  sometimes  masterful  enough  with  his  hands. 

So  with  that  I  gave  the  order,  and  our  hackbuttmen 
shot  off  their  pieces,  so  that  more  than  one  of  the  wear- 
ers of  the  red  and  white  fell  headlong. 

''A  Kennedy  !  a  Kennedy  !"  cried  the  Earl.  "  To  it, 
my  lads  !" 

And  in  a  moment  we  were  on  them.  By  instinct  we 
had  dropped  our  matchlocks  and  taken  to  the  steel,  so 
that  the  first  thing  that  I  knew  I  was  at  Thomas  of 
Drummurchie's  throat  with  my  borrowed  pike.  He 
roared  an  oath,  and,  leaping  to  the  side,  he  struck  the 
shaft  with  his  two-handed  sword,  which  shore  the  point 
off  near  to  my  upper  grip.  And  there  is  little  doubt  but 
that  I  had  been  spent  ere  I  could  have  drawn  my  sword 
had  not  Muckle  Hugh  of  Kirriemore  brought  his  broad- 
sword down  upon  the  steel  cap  of  the  AVolf  of  Drum- 
■murchie,  so  that  with  the  mighty  blow  he  was  beaten  to 
the  ground;  and,  being  senseless,  men  trampled  upon 
him  as  the  battle  swayed  to  and  fro.  Yet  I  liave  never 
forgotten  that,  but  for  Hugh,  I  was  that  day  almost 
sped,  which  should  have  been  a  lesson  to  me  not  to  trust 
to  a  weapon  of  which  I  had  no  skill,  even  though  it 
might  be  an  ell  longer  in  the  haft  than  my  sword.  Also 
I  was  thankful  to  God. 

"  A  Kennedy  1  a  Kennedy  !"  cried  we.  "We  are  driv- 
ing them  !     They  give  back  \" 

For  we  felt  the  downward  push  upon  the  hillslope,  and 
that  gave  us  courage. 

And  the  crying  of  "Bargany  "  was  almost  silenced,  for 
now  the  wearers  of  the  butcher's  colors  had  enough  to 
do  to  keep  steeks  with  us,  with  their  faces  braced  to  the 
brae,  and  so  needed  all  their  breath. 


48  THE   GRAY   MAN 

By  this  time  I  had  my  arm  cleared  and  my  sword  out^ 
and,  cartes,  but  the  fray  was  brisk.  Now,  when  it  is 
hand  to  hand,  I  fear  no  man.  Once  I  had  a  chance  of 
paying  my  score  in  the  matter  of  Drummnrchie,  for  as  I 
jDassed  over  him  he  cut  njiwards  at  me  with  a  knife. 
But  I  spared  only  long  enough  from  the  man  I  was  en- 
gaging at  the  time  (who  indeed  was  no  swordsman,  or  I 
dared  not  have  done  it)  to  slash  the  Wolf  across  the 
wrist,  which,  I  am  given  to  believe,  has  troubled  his 
sword-hand  all  his  life — and  for  no  more  than  this  he 
has  borne  me  a  grudge  unto  this  day,  so  malicious  and 
revengeful  are  some  men. 

Thus  we  drove  the  Bargany  faction  into  the  Canon- 
gate  in  spite  of  the  swordsmanship  of  their  chief,  who 
fought  ever  in  the  forefront.  It  was,  indeed,  all  over 
with  them,  when  suddenly,  from  behind  us,  there  came 
rushing  a  rabblement  of  men  with  weapons  in  their 
hands,  all  crying  "Bargany!"  Able-bodied  scoundrels 
with  long  hair  and  pallid  faces  they  Avere,  and  they  laid 
about  them  with  desperate  vigor.  Now,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  this  was  a  terrible  surprise  to  us,  and,  hearing  their 
cry,  the  broken  Bargany  folk  down  the  streets  and  closes 
took  heart  of  grace  to  have  at  us  again.  We  were  not 
discouraged,  but  part  of  us  faced  about,  so  as  to  fight 
with  our  backs  set  one  to  the  other.  Nevertheless,  I  saw 
at  once  that  unless  some  help  came  we  were  overpowered. 

"  Into  the  lanes  \"  I  cried,  though,  indeed,  I  had  no 
right  to  give  an  order,  but,  in  the  pinch  of  necessity,  it 
is  he  who  sees  that  should  lead. 

So  into  one  of  the  narrow  lanes  which  led  to  the  ford 
and  down  by  the  stepping-stones  across  the  Nor'  Loch 
we  ran,  but  not  in  the  way  of  a  rout.  Eatlier  we  re- 
treated orderly  and  slow — withdrawing,  grieved  at  heart 
to  think  that  we  had  to  leave  so  many  of  our  sick  and 
wounded  behind  us.  Yet,  because  of  the  love  they  bore 
us  as  peaceable   men,  we  knew  that  the  town's  dames 


THE   CROWN   OF  THE   CAUSEWAY  49 

would  succor  them — also  lest  we  should  be  bloodily  re- 
venged on  their  husbands  when  we  came  back  if  they 
did  not. 

At  the  edge  of  the  Nor'  Loch  six  or  seven  of  us  made 
a  rally,  and,  having  wounded  and  captured  one  of  the 
long-haired  desperadoes  whose  assault  had  turned  the 
tables  against  Cassillis,  Ave  brought  him  with  us,  think- 
ing that  my  Lord  might  wish  to  question  him  with  the 
pilniewinks. 

Now  not  many  of  the  Bargany  faction  pursued : 
some  because  they  knew  not  whither  we  were  gone,  some 
because  both  their  chief  and  the  Wolf  of  Drummurchie 
were  hurt,  and  others  again  because  the  rabble  which 
had  fallen  on  our  rear,  not  knowing  one  party  from 
another,  had  turned  their  weapons  upon  their  friends. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  a  patent  fact  that  we  good  men 
of  Cassillis  had  been  baffled  and  put  to  shame  by  the 
thieves  of  Bargany  in  the  open  High  Street  of  Edin- 
burgh. It  has  not  happened  to  many  to  be  victorious 
and  pursuing,  and  again  broken  and  defeated,  all  within 
the  space  of  half  an  hour. 

When  we  were  safe  from  pursuit  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Nor'  Loch  we  questioned  the  varlet  whom  I  and 
others  had  captured,  as  to  what  was  his  quarrel  against  us. 

''  Nothing,"  he  said.  "  I  and  the  others  were  lying  in 
the  Tolbooth,  when  suddenly  the  gates  were  opened,  and 
there  stood  one  at  the  door,  clad  in  gray,  who  gave  a 
sword  or  a  pike  to  each  man,  as  well  as  a  piece  of  gold, 
telling  us  that  there  were  other  ten  of  the  same  awaiting 
each  good  striker  who  should  fall  on  and  fight  those 
whom  he  would  show  us." 

"What  like  was  this  man?"  said  Sir  Thomas,  my 
master. 

''An  ordinary  man  enough,"  said  the  fellow;  "gray 
of  head  and  also  clad  in  gray,  but  with  armor  that  rat- 
tled beneath  his  clothes." 


50  THE   GEAY   MAN 

Then  we  looked  at  one  another,  and  remembered  the 
dying  words  of  Black  Peter:  "It  was — it  was  —  the 
Gray  Man—!" 

Once  more  such  a  man  had  crossed  the  luck  of 
Cassillis.  By  what  golden  key  he  had  bribed  the 
warders  and  opened  His  Majesty's  Tolbooth  we  knew 
not ;  but  assuredly  he  had  clean  beaten  us  from  the 
field. 

Nevertheless,  I  was  much  cheered  to  hear  on  the  next 
day  that  the  name  of  Launcelot  Kennedy,  called  "  of 
Kirrieoch,  or  Launcelot  of  the  Spurs,"'  was  among  those 
that  were  "put  to  the  horn,"  or,  in  plain  words,  declared 
rebel  and  outlaw  at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh. 

For  I  knew  that  Xell  Kennedy  would  never  flout  me 
more.  Even  fair  Marjorie  would,  perhaps,  not  disdain 
speech  with  me  now,  and  might  perchance  let  me  walk 
by  her  side  in  the  garden  some  summer  evening. 


CHAPTER    VII 

MY   lady's   FAVOES 

It  was  as  I  had  foretold.  Those  that  had  flonted  me 
for  a  beardless  boy  now  scorned  me  no  more — I  mean, 
chiefly,  Nell  Kennedy.  Indeed,  for  some  days  it  was  as 
much  as  I  would  do  even  to  speak  to  her.  She  wonld 
make  shift  oftentimes  to  pass  me  in  the  pleasances  of  the 
house  of  Culzean,  when  I  walked  abroad  in  the  sunshine 
with  my  hand  -on  my  sword — as  was  my  duty — to  receive 
her  father's  guests.  For  there  was  a  great  repair  of 
people  to  our  castle  ever  since  the  outlawing,  the  cause 
of  which  was  considered  most  fortunate  and  honorable 
to  all  concerned. 

Nell  Kennedy,  as  I  say,  would  often  pass  me  in  the 
orchard  or  in  the  Italian  garden,  which  her  father  had 
made  with  great  expense.  And  as  she  went  by  she 
would  kick  with  her  foot  a  stone  in  front  of  me.  But 
of  this  I  took  no  heed  whatever,  no  more  than  if  I  had 
not  seen  it.  Because,  for  my  own  part,  I  was  resolved 
never  to  think  of  maids  and  such  light  matters  again, 
but  rather  to  concern  myself  solely  with  glory,  as  be- 
came one  who  at  eighteen  had  been  outlawed  for  rebel- 
lion and  other  deeds  of  military  prowess. 

Once  it  happened  that  we  were  all  in  the  garden — 
Marjorie,  the  loons  James  and  Alexander  Kennedy,  and 
little  David,  Sir  Thomas's  youngest  son.  Also  Nell 
Kennedy  was  there.  Sir  Thomas  himself  was  walking 
to  and  fro  at  the  garden's  end,  all  by  his  lone,  with  his 
hands  clasped  behind  his  back,  as  was  his  custom. 


53  THE   GRAY    MAN 

Then  Nell,  who,  being  angry,  desired  above  all  else  to 
init  a  slight  upon  me,  called  me  to  come  to  her,  speaking 
roughly,  as  though  I  had  been  a  servitor,  and  bade  me 
take  a  misbehaving  puppy  dog  of  hers  within  doors. 

But  I  Avas  equal  with  her,  and  beckoned  to  me  Sandy, 
her  brother,  who  played  about  on  the  grass-plots. 

''Who  may  this  little  girl  be  that  hath  the  messan 
dog  with  her?"  I  asked  of  him. 

"Thou  art  a  great  blind  colt-head  not  to  know  my 
sister  Nell  !"  he  answered,  and  ran  again  to  his  play  with 
his  brothers. 

"Ah,"  said  I,  looking  over  the  heads  of  those  that" 
stood  near  by,  "now  I  do  remember  to  have  seen  the 
little  maid  playing  Avith  her  dolls  before  I  went  to  the 
wars  !" 

And  with  that  I  marched  off,  and  walked  to  and  fro 
on  the  terrace  near  to  my  master.  Presently  he  came 
and  walked  with  me,  as  I  had  hoped  he  Avould,  in  sight 
of  Nell  and  of  them  all,  speaking  low  and  kindly  the 
while.  And  I  listened  as  though  it  were  an  affair  of 
state  and  policy  he  had  been  confiding  to  my  private 
ear,  though  indeed  it  was  only  concerning  our  greatly 
increased  expenses  with  the  vast  number  of  guests  who 
came  to  see  him,  and  his  fear  that  the  buttery  might  be 
running  low. 

When  Nell  Kennedy  had  betaken  herself  away  in  an 
access  of  anger  and  despite,  I  made  my  bow  to  Sir 
Thomas,  her  father,  and  went  to  the  Italian  pleasance 
once  again.  Presently  the  young  Lady  Marjorie  came 
walking  by,  fairer  of  face  than  the  flower  of  the  haw- 
thorn hedge  on  a  moonlight  night,  but  with  hair  tossed 
about  her  temples  blacker  than  the  sky  on  a  night  of 
stars.  Her  eyes  were  bright  and  large  when  she  turned 
them  on  me. 

"  Launcelot,  come  and  Avalk  with  me  a  while,"  she 
said,  kindly,  "  unless  you  have  something  better  to  do 


MY    lady's    favors  53 

— with  your  arms  and  war  gear,  as  it  may  bo,"  she  added. 
And  her  way  of  speaking  thus  of  my  calling  as  a  soldier 
pleased  me.  Also  in  spite  of  my  renunciation  of  all 
pleasure  in  women's  society,  my  heart  gave  a  great 
stound  at  her  marked  favor.  Perhaps,  also,  at  the  way 
she  had  in  walking,  which  was  with  her  head  high  and 
her  bosom  set  well  forward  in  its  openwork  bodice  of  fair 
linen,  and  all  her  sweet  body  swaying  lightly  to  the  side 
as  a  willow  wand  that  bends  in  the  wind. 

Her  voice,  the  voice  of  Marjorie  Kennedy,  sounded 
like  the  running  of  deep  water  in  a  linn  under  the  dusk 
of  trees,  with  undercurrents  of  sobs  and  pitifulness  in  it, 
for  all  that  it  was  so  proud.  For  even  thus,  in  her 
youth,  walking  as  the  fairest  maid  the  sun  shone  on, 
Marjorie  seemed  ever  to  be  '''fey,''  trysted  to  some  lot 
beyond  that  of  maids  who  are  to  be  good  men's  wives 
and  mothers. 

But  enough  of  speaking  about  her  and  about.  Better 
that  I  should  tell  what  she  said  to  me  as  we  walked  up 
and  down,  while  the  young  buds  were  cracking  open  that 
gracious  May  gloaming. 

"It  was  a  good  fight,  I  hear,  and  well  fought,"  she  said. 

"  Which  fight  may  it  please  you  to  speak  of,  my  Lady 
Marjorie  ?"  said  I,  making  as  though  I  had  been  in  many. 

"  The  battle  in  the  High  Street  of  Edinburgh,"  she 
made  answer,  and  methought  smiled  as  she  said  it.  But 
there  was  no  bairnly  scorn  or  raw  coltish  ignorance  in 
Marjorie's  smile,  as  there  mostly  was  in  the  face  of  her 
sister — who  was  nothing  but  a  child  at  any  rate,  and  still 
wore  her  hair  without  a  snood,  flying  daft-like  about  her 
shoulders. 

Then  I  told  Marjorie  Kennedy  of  all  the  fight,  and  she 
listened  with  face  turned  away  from  me  to  the  sea,  look- 
ing to  the  hills  of  Arran  that  were  so  blue  in  the  dis- 
tance, so  that  for  a  space  I  thought  she  hearkened  not  to 
what  I  said. 


54  THE   GKaY   man 

But  in  a  little  she  interrupted  me.  "  And  yon  speak 
thus  with  admiration  of  Gilbert  Kennedy  of  Bargany,  he 
that  is  an  enemy  to  our  house  and  name  !  How  say  ye, 
then,  that  such  an  one  is  noble  and  worthy  ?" 

For  I  had  been  telling  her  of  meeting  him  coming 
from  the  King's  palace. 

"Ay,  noble  and  generous  is  Gilbert  Kennedy  of  Bar- 
gany, as  well  as  the  handsomest  man  that  walks,  with  a 
spring  to  his  feet  as  one  that  goes  upon  the  deep  twigs 
of  the  pine-trees  in  the  woods.  He  can  twirl  a  lance  in 
one  hand  on  horseback — for  I  myself  have  seen  him — 
never  was  there  such  a  man  !" 

For  I  had  given  him  all  my  heart  and  admiration,  be- 
ing then  young — or,  at  least,  not  very  old  in  years — and  I 
wished  with  all  my  strength  that  such  an  one  had  been 
chief  of  our  side  and  Earl  of  Cassillis,  instead  of  he  that 
was.  Though  my  Lord  is  a  good  man  also,  and  I  deny  it 
not. 

Then  it  was  that  my  Lady  Majorie  showed  me  the 
greatest  favor  that  ever  she  showed  to  any  man,  and 
caused  my  heart  to  beat  high  with  love  and  hope.  For 
she  took  my  hand  in  hers,  holding  it  to  her  side  as  she 
walked — ay,  and  stroked  and  touched  it  gently  with  her 
other  hand  as  we  went  along,  being  hidden  by  the  screen 
of  the  leaves  in  the  pleasance  hedges.  Now  this  was  so 
sweet  to  me  and  precious  that  I  slept  with  my  right 
hand  in  a  glove  of  silk  for  many  days — ay,  and  even  for- 
bore to  wash  it.  For  I  bethought  me  that  though,  as  a 
man  of  war,  I  had  forsworn  the  society  of  silly  girls,  yet 
every  true  knight  had  a  lady  for  his  heart's  mistress, 
whose  colors  he  might  wear  in  his  helmet,  and  whose 
lightest  word  he  might  treasure  in  his  heart. 

Thus  Ave  two  walked  and  talked,  while  the  sun  was 
going  down  and  the  colors  of  a  dove's  breast  crept  over 
the  water  from  the  west. 

''And  this  Gilbert  of  Bargany— tell  me  of  him— for, 


MY    lady's    favors  55 

being  tlie  great  enemy  of  our  liouse,  I  desire  to  hear 
more  of  him,"  she  said. 

So  I  told  her,  being  nothing  loath  to  speak  of  so  brave 
an  enemy. 

"  Was  he  hnrt  at  all  in  the  combat,  think  yon  ?"  she 
asked  again,  carelessly,  as  one  that  thinks  of  other  things. 

"  Wonnded  ?  No,"  I  replied,  with  a  langh  ;  "on  the 
contrary,  he  pnrsned  ns  down  to  the  ford  of  the  JSTor'  Loch, 
and  defied  us  all  to  come  back  and  have  it  ont.  But  I 
think  that  not  he  but  another  had  a  hand  in  the  craven's 
trick  of  letting  loose  on  ns  the  offscourings  of  the  prisons 
— Highland  catherans  and  Border  hedge-thieves." 

"  And  who  might  that  other  be  ?"  she  asked. 

"That,"  I  replied,  with  dignity,  "I  am  not  at  liberty 
to  tell.     It  is  yet  a  secret  under  trust." 

"  Tell  it  me,"  she  said,  bending  her  eyes  on  me,  that 
were  beautiful  as  I  know  not  what. 

And  this,  indeed,  I  should  very  gladly  have  done  at 
that  moment,  but  truly  I  knew  nothing  of  the  matter. 
So  I  made  haste  to  answer  that  I  would  readily  die  for 
her,  but  that  it  was  a  soldier's  duty  that  he  should  keep 
the  secrets  with  which  his  honor  had  been  intrusted. 

"  Then  tell  me  what  you  can/'  she  said,  so  quietly  that 
I  was  ashamed  of  my  subterfuge.  Though  that  is  the 
way  that  all  wise  men  must  talk  to  women,  so  as  to  keep 
the  peace,  telling  them  (mostly)  the  truth,  but  seldom 
the  whole  truth. 

"It  was,"  said  I,  "the  Gray  Man" 

"Ah,"  she  replied,  quickly  drawing  away  her  hand  and 
laying  it  upon  her  heart,  "the  Gray  Man  !" 

"  What  ken  ye  of  the  Gray  Man  ?"  I  asked  her,  in 
surprise. 

"Nothing,"  she  said,  giving  me  back  her  hand;  "I 
know  not  why,  but  for  the  moment  something  came  upon 
me,  and  I  felt  as  it  had  been  a  little  faint.  It  is  nothing. 
It  has  already  passed." 


56  THE   GRAY   MAN 

Then  I  wished  to  bring  her  a  cup  of  wine  from  the 
house.  But  she  laughed  more  merrily  than  ever  1  had 
heard  her,  and  tossed  back  the  lace  kerchief  which  con- 
fined her  hair,  so  that  it  lay  about  her  white  neck  with 
the  ends  dropping  over  her  bosom. 

"  Let  us  two  walk  here  yet  a  sjDace,  Launcelot,"  she  said, 
"for  it  is  lonely  within  the  great  house." 

A  saying  which  made  my  heart  swell  with  gladness  and 
pride,  for  she  had  never  thus  distinguished  any  man  be- 
fore, so  that  I  forgot  all  about  my  vows  and  about  for- 
swearing to  company  with  women.  But  this  was  indeed 
very  different. 

"My  Lady  Marjorie,"  I  said  (I  much  desired  to  say 
"  My  sweet  lady,"  as  they  do  in  the  stage  plays,  but  dared 
not).  "My  Lady  Marjorie,"  I  said,  "I,  even  I,  will  be 
your  true  knight,  and  fight  for  you  against  all,  if  so  be 
that  coming  home  I  may  see  the  pleasure  in  your  eyes." 

"Ah,  will  you  truly  ?"  she  asked,  and  sighed.  Then 
she  was  silent  for  a  moment,  but  drew  not  away  her  hand, 
which  I  took  to  be  of  good  omen. 

"  No,  you  must  not — you  must  not.  It  would  not  be 
fair !"  she  said. 

"I  love  you  with  all  my  heart  I"  I  whispered,  trying  to 
reach  her  hand  ;  but  somehow,  though  it  was  very  near,  I 
could  not  again  take  it  in  mine. 

She  seemed  not  to  hear  me  speak. 

"Well,"  she  said  at  last,  as  if  to  herself,  "perhaps  it 
will  be  good  for  the  lad." 

I  could  not  conceive  what  she  meant. 

"  Launcelot,"  she  continued,  and  her  voice  had  music 
in  it  such  as  I  never  heard  in  any  kirk  or  quire,  at  matins 
or  at  laud — "Launcelot,  do  not  think  of  me,  I  pray  you 
— at  least,  not  if  you  can  helj)  it — " 

"Help  it  I  cannot,"  answered  I;  "it  is  far  beyond 
that  !" 

And  so  I  thought  at  the  time. 


MY   lady's   favors  57 

"  But,  Launeclot,  my  sweet  squire,"  she  said  again, 
''hast  thou  already  forgotten  thy  vow  ?  It  is  better  for 
thee  to  be  a  squire  of  arms  than  a  squire  of  dames  !  At 
least,"  she  added,  smiling,  'Hill  you  win  your  spurs." 

"I  will  win  them  for  yonr  sake,  an  you  will  let  me, 
Marjorie  !"  I  cried. 

"Win  them,  then,  Launcelot,"  she  made  me  answer, 
suddenly  breaking  from  her  reserve,  "win  them  for  my 
sake — and  see,  meantime  your  shall  wear  my  colors." 

And  she  undid  a  brooch  of  gold  whereon  were  the  lilies 
of  France,  that  were  the  badge  of  her  house,  and  setting 
it  on  the  velvet  collar  of  my  coat  she  gave  a  little  dainty 
pat  to  the  place  where  she  put  it. 

"  It  sets  yon  well,"  she  said,  pushing  my  hair  to  one 
side  to  look  at  me  ;  "two  such  I  have.  Wear  you  one 
and  I  shall  wear  the  other — for  Marjorie  Kennedy  and 
the  honor  of  Culzean." 

It  sounded  like  a  sacred  oath  rather  than  a  posy  of  a 
love  -  gift :  "  For  Marjorie  Kennedy  and  the  honor  of 
Culzean  /" 

Then  most  humbly  would  I  have  lifted  her  fingers  to 
my  lips  and  kissed  them,  not  daring  more  ;  but  she  put 
her  hand  on  my  head,  for  she  was  tall  (though  not  as  tall 
as  I),  and  bent  sweetly  to  me. 

The  blood  of  all  my  heart  fled  insurgent  to  my  ears, 
deafening  me,  as  I  also  stooped  towards  her. 

"No,  not  there,"  she  whispered,  and  kissed  me  gently 
on  the  brow. 

"My  laddie,"  she  said,  "be  brave,  true,  noble,  and  one 
day  you  shall  know  root  and  branch  what  the  love  of 
woman  is." 

And  waving  me  not  to  follow  her,  she  went  in  with  her 
head  turned  away  from  my  sight. 

So  there  for  a  great  space  I  stood  in  the  dusk  of  the 
arbor,  mazed  and  bewildered  by  the  strange,  undreamed- 
of bliss — ennobled  by  the  touch  of  her  lips,  ay,  more  than 


58  THE    GKAY    MAN" 

if  the  King  himself  had  laid  his  sword  on  my  shonlder  in 
the  way  of  accolade. 

Then  at  last  I  moved  and  went  in  also,  dragging  tardy- 
foot  away  from  the  sweet  and  memorable  place. 

At  the  garden  gate  I  met  Nell  Kennedy,  and  made  to 
pass  without  seeing  her.  But  she  stood  in  the  middle  of 
the  way. 

"I  know/'  she  said,  pointing  scornfully  with  her  fin- 
ger, "  Maidie  has  been  talking  to  you  behind  the  hedge. 
She  has  given  you  the  French  brooch  she  would  not  give 
me  yesterday,  though  she  has  another." 

Then  I  walked  silently  j)ast  her,  with  as  great  dignity 
as  I  could  command,  for  that  is  ever  the  best  way  with 
forward  children. 

But  she  turned  and  cried  after  me,  "  I  know  who  will 
get  that  other  \" 

A  saying  which  did  not  trouble  mo,  though  I  could  not 
quite  forget  it,  for  I  knew  well  enough  that  it  was  only 
Nell's  spite,  because  her  sister  had  not  given  her  the 
golden  badge  which  she  coveted. 

High  in  my  room  in  the  White  Tower  I  sat  and  looked 
out  to  the  sea.  There  I  sat  all  night,  sleepless,  till  the 
sun  rose  over  the  woods  and  the  chilly  tops  of  the  waves 
glittered.  I  bethought  me  on  all  that  had  happened, 
and  I  remembered  with  shame  many  things  in  which  I 
had  done  not  wisely — especially  in  the  matter  of  the 
Grieve's  lass,  and  my  convoying  of  her  home  through  the 
wood.  For  now,  with  Marjorie  Kennedy's  badge  against 
my  lips,  all  things  had  become  new ;  bitterly  was  I 
ashamed  of  my  folly,  and  right  briskly  did  I  repent  of  it. 


HIGH   IN   JIY   ROOM   IN   THE   WHITE   TOWER  ' 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE   LAIED   OF  AUCHENDKAYNE 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  taking  of  the  treas- 
ure of  Kelwood  was  permitted  to  pass  without  the  Earl^ 
a  man  keener  for  red  siller  than  any  other  man  in  Scot- 
land;,  casting  about  him  for  the  reivers  of  the  gear  he 
had  so  confidently  counted  his  own.  His  old  grand- 
mother of  a  Countess,  whom,  though  a  young  man,  he 
had  shamefully  married  for  her  tocher  and  plenishing, 
flustered  about  the  house  of  Cassillis  like  a  hen  dancing 
on  a  hot  girdle  when  she  heard  of  the  loss.  It  was  but 
the  other  day  that  she  had  had  to  draw  her  stocking-foot 
and  pay  down  eight  thousand  merks,  that  her  man  might 
be  permitted  to  resign  the  office  of  High  Treasurer,  lest 
all  her  gear  would  be  wasted  in  making  loans  to  the 
King,  who  had  great  need  of  such.  And  so  the  further 
loss  of  this  treasure  sat  wondrously  heavy  on  my  Lady 
Cassillis,  as  indeed  it  did  on  her  husband. 

The  Earl  himself  rode  over  to  Culzean  to  hold  council 
concerning  it  with  his  uncle,  the  Tutor.  He  cherished 
a  wonderful  affection  for  Sir  Thomas — considering,  that 
is,  what  a  selfish  man  he  was,  and  how  bound  up  in  his 
own  interests. 

So  after  they  had  talked  together  a  Avhile,  pacing  up 
and  down  in  the  garden  (while  I  walked  apart  and 
pressed  the  hard  brooch- j)iu  of  Marjorie  Kennedy's  tryst- 
ing  favor  to  my  breast  for  comfort),  they  called  me  to 
them. 

So  with  all  respect  and  speed  I  went,  and  stood  with 


60  THE   GRAY   MAN 

my  bonnet  off  to  hear  their  commands.  I  thought  that 
it  was  some  light  matter  of  having  the  horses  brought. 
But  when  I  came  the  Earl  was  looking  keenly  at  me,  and 
even  Sir  Thomas  paused  a  little  while  before  he  spoke. 

''Launcelot,  you  are  a  brave  lad,"  he  said,  "and  I 
know  that  you  desire  to  distinguish  yourself  even  more 
than  you  have  done,  though  you  have  shown  your  mettle 
already.  Now  my  lord  and  I  have  a  matter  which  it 
needs  a  man  to  perform — one  of  address  and  daring.  I 
hear  from  all  about  me  that  you  are  a  ready  man  with 
your  wits  and  your  tongue.  Will  you  bear  my  lord's 
cartel  of  defiance  to  his  enemy,  David  Crauford  of 
Kerse  ?" 

"  Ay,  my  lords,  that  will  I,  and  readily  !"  I  replied, 
knowing  that  my  good  fortune  stood  on  tiptoe. 

"1  am  not  eager,"  the  Earl  said,  breaking  in  upon  my 
reply,  "  for  reasons  which  I  have  given  to  the  Tutor,  to 
send  one  of  my  own  folk.  I  would  rather  accredit  one 
more  kin  to  Culzean  here,  one  who  is  a  gentleman  of 
good  blood  and  a  brave  Kennedy,  such  as  I  observed  you 
to  be  on  the  day  of  the  tulzie  in  Edinburgh." 

"I  will  serve  Cassillis  till  I  die,"  I  rej)lied,  making 
him  a  little  bow  —  because  I  wished  him  to  see  that, 
though  I  was  of  the  moorland  house,  I  had  yet  manners 
as  good  as  he  had  brought  back  with  him  from  France. 
Besides,  I  saw  Marjorie  looking  down  upon  us  from  the 
terrace,  which  made  me  glance  at  my  shadow  as  it  lay 
clearly  outlined  upon  the  gravel. 

And  I  was  glad  to  observe  that  the  point  of  my  cloak 
fell  with  some  grace  over  the  scabbard  of  my  sword. 
Now  this  was  not  vanity,  God  knows,  but  only  a  just 
desire  to  appear  point  device  in  the  presence  of  the  heads 
of  my  clan  and  of  the  lady  of  my  heart — which  is  a  thing 
very  different.  For  of  all  things  I  am  not  vain,  nor 
given,  after  the  manner  of  some,  to  talking  greatly  about 
my  own  exploits. 


THE   LAIKD   OF   AUCHEKDRAYNE  61 

"So,"  said  the  Earl,  "yon  will  go  to  David  Crauford 
of  Kerse  at  his  own  honse  as  my  messenger.  Yon  will 
not  give  him  a  written  bnt  a  spoken  message.  And  in 
token  that  yon  come  from  ns  who  have  power  to  speak, 
yon  mnst  exhibit  to  him  onr  signet-rings,  Avhicli  we  now 
intrnst  to  you  to  guard  Avitli  your  life." 

So,  giving  me  the  rings,  which  I  put  under  my  glove 
upon  the  first  finger  of  the  left  hand,  he  communicated 
to  me  the  cartel  for  the  Laird  of  Kerse,  which  he  made 
me  repeat  carefully  thrice  over  in  their  hearing.  Then 
he  dismissed  me  to  go  my  way. 

And  as  I  went  I  saw  the  lads  roistering  in  the  garden 
with  the  young  Sheriff  of  Wigton,  who  had  married  their 
eldest  sister  when  she  was  bnt  a  lassie.  And  I  smiled  as 
I  thought  within  me,  "  Had  I  been  so  born  to  lofty  estate 
I  might  even  have  been  playing  at  golf  and  pat-ball,  in- 
stead of  riding  on  the  errands  of  Cassillis  and  Culzean, 
with  an  Earl's  message  in  my  mouth  and  an  Earl's  signet 
on  my  finger." 

And  I  do  not  think  that  the  pride  was  an  unworthy 
one,  for  since  I  had  none  to  push  my  fortune  for  me,  it  was 
the  more  necessary  that  I  should  be  able  to  do  it  for  myself. 

I  went  to  get  my  war-horse,  for  after  the  affair  of 
Edinburgh  Sir  Thomas  had  given  me  Dom  Nicholas, 
a  black  of  mettle  and  power,  well  able  to  carry  me  even 
had  I  been  clad  in  full  armor,  instead  of  merely  riding 
light,  as  I  now  meant  to  go,  with  only  my  sword  and 
pistolets. 

At  the  seaward  corner  of  the  White  Tower,  going  by 
the  way  of  the  stables,  I  met  my  Lady  Marjorie,  and  my 
heart  gave  a  bound  at  the  seeing  of  her.  She  came 
gravely  forward  to  give  me  her  hand — yet  not  to  kiss, 
as  I  knew  by  the  downward  weighting  of  it,  and  by  her 
taking  it  quickly  again  to  herself. 

"  Whither  go  you,  grave  man  of  affairs  ?"  she  said, 
smiling  with  pleasantry. 


63  THE    GEAY    MAN 

''  I  go  with  an  earl's  cartel  and  defiance/'  I  replied, 
telling  her,  perhaps,  more  than  I  ought.  But  then  she 
was  my  lady. 

Marjorie  became  very  pale,  and  set  her  hand  on  the 
stone  parapet  of  the  sea-wall  where  she  stood. 

'*'  To  Bargany  ?"  she  asked,  breathlessly,  for  it  was 
natural  she  should  think  that  the  quarrel  with  the  fami- 
ly had  broken  out  again. 

"Not  to  Bargany,"  I  said,  smiling  to  reassui'e  her. 
"  I  cannot  now  tell  you  where,  but  it  is  out  of  Carrick 
that  I  ride — Carrick  for  a  man,  Kyle  for  a  coav.  I  ride 
to  the  land  of  sweet-milk  cheese  !" 

"God  speed  you,  then,"  she  said.  "Take  care  of 
yourself — beware  of  the  dairymaids.  I  have  heard  they 
are  dangerous." 

"For  your  sweet  sake  !"  cried  I,  waving  my  bonnet  to 
her  as  I  ran  down  the  path. 

But  before  I  went  fairly  out  of  sight  I  turned  and 
looked  back,  for,  indeed,  I  could  not  help  it.  And  Mar- 
jorie was  still  standing  under  the  archway  where  I  had 
left  her,  but  with  so  sad  and  lost  a  countenance  that  I 
had  run  back  to  ask  her  what  was  her  grief.  Then  she 
seemed  to  awake,  kissed  the  tips  of  her  fingers  to  me, 
and  turning  her  about,  walked  slowly  within. 

When  I  was  fully  arrayed  I  rode  past  the  front  of  the 
house  on  pretext  of  knowing  if  my  lords  had  any  further 
commands  for  me,  but  really  that  the  maids  might  see 
me  upon  Dom  Nicholas,  in  his  fair  caparison  of  beaten 
silver.  She  whom  I  wished  most  to  see  I  saw  not  in- 
deed ;  but  there  at  the  great  gate,  with  a  foolish  sjn-ay- 
ing  branch  of  hawthorn  in  her  hair,  was  Nell  Kennedy, 
of  whom  during  these  last  days  I  had  scarcely  so  much 
as  thought. 

And  with  her,  to  my  burning  shame  and  amaze,  was 
Kate  Allison,  the  Grieve's  daughter.  The  two  girls 
stood  with  their  arms  about   one  another's  waists,  as 


THE   LAIED   OF   AUCIIENDRAYKE  63 

maids  that  are  yet  half  bairns  are  wont  to  do.  But 
neither  of  them  looked  at  me.  Only  when  I  made  Dom 
Nicholas  caracole  by,  they  turned  disdainfully  aside  as 
though  they  were  avoiding  the  path  of  some  poisonous 
toad  or  asp.  And  so,  wholly  without  word,  they  passed 
down  one  of  the  leafy  avenues  that  beset  the  place  of 
Culzean,  Avhich  thing  in  a  moment  rendered  all  my  full, 
sweet  cup  empty  and  bitter. 

At  this  I  was  much  dashed  and  crestfallen,  so  that  I 
had  no  sj)irit  in  me.  For  I  was  sure,  by  the  attitude  of 
the  maids  and  their  demeanor  to  me,  that  they  had 
gotten  to  the  stage  of  the  confiding  of  secrets.  And  if 
that  were  so,  I  had  a  good  guess  that  it  would  be  as  well 
for  me  to  avoid  the  Grieve's  house  by  the  shore  for  some 
time  to  come.  Which  thing,  indeed,  last  evening's  tryst 
with  Marjorie  had  made  me  resolve  on  before.  But  it 
was  not  the  matter  of  Kate  Allison's  anger  that  troubled 
me ;  it  was  rather  that  the  clattering  minx,  Nell  Ken- 
nedy, would  certainly  tell  her  sister  of  my  past  boyish 
affairs  with  the  pretty  young  lass,  and  specially  of  our 
home-coming  from  the  March  fair  so  late  at  night. 

But  the  stir  of  going  through  the  town  of  Maybole — 
the  lasses  running  to  the  doors  to  admire,  the  'prentice 
lads  envying  and  hating  me,  so  worked  on  me  that,  for 
a  space,  I  forgot  the  ill-fared  memory  of  the  two  maids 
linking  down  through  the  greenwood  together.  Yet  the 
thing  came  again  into  my  mind  and  stuck  there  before 
I  had  o'ertaken  half  the  way  to  Dalrymple,  by  which  I 
was  behooved  to  go. 

As  I  rode  along  I  practised  pulling  at  the  wicks  of  my 
upper  lip,  where  I  was  persuaded  that  my  mustache  was 
certainly  beginning  to  grow  apace.  For  so  I  had  seen 
the  soldiers  of  the  King's  Guard  do  in  Edinburgh,  and 
mightily  admired  them  at  it. 

The  way  went  pleasantly  by,  there  being  many  folk  of 
all  degrees  and  qualities  on  the  road.     And  as  many  as 


64  THE    GRAY    MAN 

saw  me  come  stepped  aside  and  stood  respectfully  at 
gaze  if  they  were  on  foot,  or  courteously  saluted  me  as 
an  equal  if  they  were  on  horseback.  Both  which  things 
pleased  me  well. 

So  I  went  on  smiling  to  myself  for  the  pleasantness  of 
my  thoughts,  in  spite  of  the  incident  of  the  lasses.  Sud- 
denly, however,  I  came  upon  a  horseman  like  myself, 
that  rode  down  a  loaning  from  the  muirside.  I  saw  no 
weapon  that  he  had  about  him,  yet  he  was  no  mere  land- 
ward minister  or  merchant,  by  the  sober  richness  of  his 
habit.  He  was  dressed  in  fine  cloth  of  Flemish  blue, 
with  a  plain  edging  of  silk,  but  without  lace  or  any 
broidery.  His  face,  when  I  saw  it,  was  pleasant,  and 
there  was  on  it  a  smile  that  spoke  of  good  cheer.  He 
seemed  to  be  tall  of  his  person,  and,  from  the  manner  in 
which  he  reined  his  horse  easily  Avith  his  left  hand,  I 
knew  him  to  be  strong.  A  well-appearing,  sober,  con- 
ditionable  man  of  fifty  I  should  have  taken  him  to  be,  fit 
to  be  head  of  a  house  or  to  sit  at  a  king's  council-table. 

But  his  occupation  was  the  strange  part  of  his  sudden 
appearing.  He  was  emjoloyed  in  reading  a  little  book 
which  he  held  in  his  right  hand,  riding  easily  all  the 
while  with  his  horse  at  a  brisk  walk — a  thing  which  I 
never  saw  any  one  do  before.  Then  was  I  sure  that  he 
was  a  man  of  religion,  by  his  busying  himself  thus  with 
his  devotions.  At  which  I  was  the  better  pleased,  since 
religion  is  a  thing  I  was  ever  taught  to  reverence  above 
all  else,  for  that  is  the  habit  of  the  moorland  folk  who 
get  but  little  of  it.  On  the  other  hand,  they  tell  me  that 
in  Edinburgh,  where  there  are  as  many  as  seven  minis- 
ters, the  folk  pay  little  heed  to  their  privileges,  and  are, 
as  indeed  I  have  seen,  given  over  to  following  all  manner 
of  wickedness,  and  that  with  greediness. 

As  my  fellow-traveller  came  down  the  loaning  he  looked 
up,  and,  seeing  me,  he  wheeled  his  horse  alongside  of 
mine,  and  very  courteously  gave  me  '^  Good-day." 


THE    LAIRD    OF   AUCHENDRAYNE  65 

Then,  as  well  he  might,  he  admired  Dom  Nicholas, 
letting  his  eye  stray  smilingly  over  my  equipage.  Yet 
even  at  that  moment  I  marked  that  it  was  a  set  smile, 
and  methought  that  there  was  a  busy  brain  behind  it. 

''You  ride  like  a  soldier  that  hath  seen  the  wars, 
young  sir,"  he  said. 

''Ah,"  I  replied,  lifting  my  bonnet  of  steel  as  to  an 
elder,  "but  little  enough  of  these,  my  Lord,  for  I  am 
but  a  youth." 

"  You  will  mend  of  that  last,  I  warrant,"  said  my  com- 
panion, "and  in  the  end  more  swiftly  than  you  will  care 
about." 

"  You  were  busy  with  your  book  of  devotion,"  said  I, 
with  respect,  for  I  care  not  to  force  my  conversation  on 
any  man  ;  "let  me  not  interrupt." 

"  Nay,"  he  said,  "  I  fear  I  am  no  great  churchman, 
though  for  my  servants'  sake  I  have  reading  and  worship 
daily  in  my  own  house,  and  generally  I  may  claim  to  be 
very  well  affected  towards  the  Almighty." 

"  Are  there  no  churches  in  your  part  of  the  country," 
I  asked  him,  "for  I  perceive  by  your  habit  you  are  not 
a  hereaway  man?" 

"There  are  indeed  kirks  there,  but  I  cannot  bide  to 
be  hampered  and  taken  in  a  snare  within  walls,  in  the 
present  unsettled  state  of  the  country.  A  peaceable  man 
does  well  to  worship  in  the  open.  What  sense  is  there 
in  being  shut  weaponless  in  a  kirk,  and  shot  at  through 
the  windows,  as  happened  not  long  ago  ?" 

I  asked  how  that  could  be. 

"Have  you  not  heard  how  in  the  north  country  the 
Craufords  beset  the  Kennedies  in  Dalrymple  Kirk,  tak- 
ing them  at  an  advantage  without  their  weapons  of  war 
— so  that  a  Kennedy  now  goes  no  oftener  to  kirk  than 
the  twenty-ninth  of  February  comes  into  the  calendar  ?" 

"How  strange  it  befalls  in  a  small  world,"  said  I, 
laughing  ;  "for  I  am  a  Kennedy,  and  I  ride  to  visit  the 


66  THE   GRAY    MAN 

Craufords  of  Kerse."    Then  he  looked  at  me  more  close- 
ly than  ever. 

''My  name,"  he  said,  courteously,  "is  John  Mure,  of 
Auchendrayne. " 

So  I  told  him  my  name  and  style,  and  also  the  knight's 
name  to  whom  I  was  squire,  for  after  his  giving  me  his 
own  I  could  not  do  less. 

"You  have  been  in  Edinburgh  lately?"  he  said. 
"And  I  doubt  not,  by  your  looks,  bore  yourself  well  in 
the  sad  broil  in  the  High  Street.  Indeed,  I  think  that 
I  heard  as  much.  Though  being  a  man  of  good  age,  and 
one  that  is  of  quiet  ways,  I  neither  make  or  mell  with 
such  tulzies,  which  are  for  young,  lusty  folk  at  any  rate." 

After  a  little  riding  in  silence  and  thought,  he  asked 
me  if  I  had  ever  spoken  to  Gilbert  Kennedy  of  Bargany, 
and  it  was  with  a  loath  heart  that  I  answered  "No." 

Then  he  spoke  long  of  him  and  his  noble  prowess, 
comparing  him  to  the  Earl  of  Cassillis,  to  his  great  ad- 
vantage— which  I  grant  it  was  easy  enough  to  do.  But 
since  I  could  not  wear  a  man's  signet-ring  on  my  finger 
and  deny  him  even  by  my  silence,  I  spoke  up  for  my  col- 
ors.    And  that  is  good  enough  religion,  as  I  read  it. 

"I  am  a  Cassillis  man,"  said  I,  with  my  hand  on  my 
sword,  "and  I  care  not  who  knows  it." 

"  Hush  you,  young  sir,"  replied  the  Laird  of  Auchen- 
drayne,  soothingly  ;  "mind  that  you  are  now  in  an  ene- 
my's country.  I  Avarrant  that  Currie  of  Kelwood  has 
travelled  this  road  not  so  long  before  you." 

"  I  am  not  one  who  cares  whether  folk  know  my  opin- 
ions !"  I  cried.  "See,  I  wear  them  on  my  collar.  And 
I  have  on  my  finger  a  double  safe-conduct." 

Whereupon  I  let  him  see  the  rings,  drawing  off  my 
gauntlet  that  I  might  show  him  the  signets. 

Then  he  redoubled  his  respect  and  rode  nearer  to  me, 
which  made  me  glad  that  I  had  showed  him  the  seals 
with  their  crests. 


THE    LAIRD    OF   AUCHENUKAYNE  67 

^'You  are  young  to  ride  so  far  alone  on  such  great 
folk's  business/'  he  said,  softly.  "  Even  I,  that  am  old 
and  sober,  am  not  so  trusted." 

"  Laird  Aucliendrayne/'  I  replied  to  him,  "you  do  jest 
with  me  because  of  my  youth.  For  you  yourself  are  of 
the  great  ones,  their  kinsman  and  equal  at  muster  and 
council-board,  and  but  lately,  in  the  Earl's  absence,  Bail- 
zie  of  Carrick  !" 

Then  he  went  on  to  speak  of  the  Earl,  mocking  at  him 
as  one  greedy-tooth  for  land  and  siller  like  his  father,  and 
warning  me  that  when  he  had  done  with  me  he  would  cast 
me  off  without  fee  or  reward,  like  an  old  glove. 

"Nay,  worse,"  said  he,  "for  he  will  save  the  worn 
glove  to  sell  over  again  to  Granny  Nish  of  the  Luck- 
enbooths." 

"Light -hand  or  luck -penny,"  said  I,  "  Launcelot 
Kennedy  is  not  the  man  to  change  his  colors  for  goods 
or  gear." 

"  And  who  bids  you  ?"  said  he.  "  Tush,  man  !  you  are 
at  the  horn  and  outlaw.  Any  man  may  take  your  life 
and  be  the  freer  for  it.  The  sneckdraw  Cassillis  and  the 
old  wife  Culzean  are  not  fit  mettle  for  a  gallant  like  you 
to  ride  beside.  Hear  ye,  man  ;  I  will  tell  you  a  secret 
which  none  knoweth  yet,  but  which,  if  you  are  wise  and 
bold,  will  make  your  fortune  with  the  King.  Bargany  is 
to  marry  one  of  the  Queen's  bower-maidens — one  too  that 
carries  the  King's  name — aiid  he  is  to  have  the  Earldom 
of  Carrick  r 

Here  he  hushed  his  voice  and  leaned  towards  me,  set- 
ting his  hand  on  the  arch  of  Dom  Nicholas's  neck. 

"And  that,"  he  whispered,  "  will  mean  knighthood  and 
an  estate — besides  a  fair  maid  with  a  tocher,  to  every  good 
man  that  can  draw  a  sword  and  lead  a  company.  What 
think  ye  of  that  ?  Be  not  hasty,  man.  I  tell  you  Bar- 
gany will  crumple  up  Cassillis  as  I  crumple  this  bit  of 
paper." 


68  THE    GEAY    MAN" 

And  he  threw  a  crushed  sheet  of  writing  into  Doon 
Water  as  we  rode  beside  it. 

Then  I  faced  about  upon  him,  and  set  myself  very- 
straight  in  the  saddle. 

"  Sir,"  I  said,  "you  are  an  older  man,  a  richer  man,  a 
better  learned  man  than  I.  But  let  me  tell  you,  sir,  that 
I  am  an  honester  man  than  you  ;  and  maybe  I  shall  win 
though  none  the  worse  of  that  at  the  long  and  last.  But 
if  what  I  have  said  offend  you,  I  am  Avilling  to  give  satis- 
faction on  horse  or  foot,  now  or  again,  either  to  you  or  to 
any  younger  man  of  your  name.  I  bid  you  good-day,  sir, 
for  I  count  you  not  good  company  for  leal  gentlemen." 

And  with  that  I  turned  my  back  on  him,  and  rode  on 
my  way. 

"  Go  your  own  gate,"  he  said,  rather  regretfully  than 
angrily.  "  You  have  thrown  away  a  kindly  offer  for  an 
old  song  and  a  sounding  phrase.  You  are  a  mettle  lad, 
but  with  much  wind  in  your  belly." 

So  I  rode  on,  thinking  that  I  had  done  with  him — 
which  was  very  far  indeed  from  being  the  case. 


CHAPTER  IX 
CARTEL    OF    CONTUMELY 

Now  the  place  where  I  took  my  leave  of  that  pleas- 
ant^ reputable  treiuson- breeder,  John  Mure  of  Auchen- 
clrayne,  was  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  Dalrymple 
Bridge,  where  it  strides  across  Doon  Water.  I  am  per^ 
suaded  that  when  I  left  him  a  little  behind  I  saw  him 
heave  up  his  hand,  for  I  got  just  a  waft  of  it  with  the 
tail  of  my  eye.  Yet  though  I  could  not  swear  in  con- 
science-clear in  any  court  in  the  land  (unless  absolute 
need  were),  I  am  still  persuaded  in  my  mind,  as  much 
as  I  was  then,  that  the  douce  and  gracious  man  intended 
that  I  should  fall  into  an  ambush  if  I  proved  overly 
hard-bitten  for  his  projects  and  temptings. 

So  as  I  came  near  to  the  bridge  end  I  looked  very 
Avarily  about,  and  methought  that  I  spied  the  black 
muzzle  of  a  hackbutt  where  there  was  no  need  of  such 
like.  Now  hackbutts  do  not,  even  in  Carrick,  grow  on 
hedges,  though  in  these  days  a  man  might  somewhat 
easily  make  the  mistake  of  thinking  so.  I  judged,  there- 
fore, that  there  would  be  an  ugly  face  behind  the  gun, 
and  a  finger  on  the  slow  match  that  intended  me  no 
good. 

As  I  paused,  turning  about  on  my  saddle,  I  saw  a  fel- 
low rise  out  of  the  copse-wood  before  me  and  run  like  a 
rabbit  to  the  bridge  end.  That  was  enough  for  me. 
Fighting  is  well  enough,  and  I  can  be  doing  with  it, 
for  it  is  the  path  of  glory  and  of  fortune.  But  black 
treachery  I  cannot  stomach. 


70  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

So  being  mightily  angry,  but  resolved  like  steel  to 
show  John  Mure  and  his  butchers  that  I  despised  them, 
I  turned  Dom  Nicholas's  head  and  set  him  straight  at 
the  deeps  of  Doon  Water,  v/here  ford  there  was  none. 
In  a  moment  we  were  splashing  in  the  pool,  and  in  an- 
other Dom  Nicholas  had  thrown  back  his  head  and  taken 
to  the  swimming  like  a  duck.  It  was  but  a  little  way 
across,  but  far  enough  for  me,  for  I  saw  the  fellows  run- 
ning along  the  bank  from  the  end  of  the  bridge,  blowing 
on  their  matches  and  bidding  me  stop.  Now  that  was 
not  a  likely  thing  for  me  to  do,  being,  praise  the  Lord  ! 
in  my  sober  senses. 

But  when  I  got  to  the  other  shore,  and  set  my  horse  to 
climb  the  steep  (which  was  by  a  mill  on  the  waterside), 
I  was  somewhat  dashed  to  find  one  sitting  quiet  on  his 
horse  within  ten  paces  of  me,  with  his  fingers  on  his 
sword  and  pistol  bended  in  his  hand. 

I  apprehended  in  a  moment  that  this  must  be  James 
Mure  the  younger  of  Auchendrayne,  and  I  thought  that 
I  was  as  good  as  dead.  Yet  I  held  up  my  hand  and 
cried  "Herald  !"  and  "Safe-conduct  !"  Though  I  knew 
that  with  such  men  as  the  Mures  I  might  just  as  well 
and  usefully  have  cried  "Bubbly  Jock!"  or  "Pigeon 
Pie  r 

The  young  man  in  war-gear  who  sat  his  horse  above 
me  did  not  move  nor  lift  his  weapon  to  fire. 

"Tell  me,"  he  said,  calmly,  "who  may  you  be  that 
cries  '  Safe  -  conduct !'  and  '  Herald  !'  on  the  lands  of 
Kerse  ?" 

I  answered  him  that  I  was  Launcelot  Kennedy — and  to 
effectuate  something  with  him  I  added  "of  Kirrieoch." 
For  I  thought  it  was  unlikely  that  he  Avould  know  the 
hill  country  well  enough  to  remember  that  my  father 
was  still  alive.  Which  I  take  to  have  been  an  innocent 
enough  deception,  in  that  it  hurt  no  one  : 

And  in  this  I  was  right,  for  he  answered  at  once : 


CARTEL   OF    CONTUMELY  71 


<e 


I  am  David  Crauford  the  younger,  of  Kerse ;  but 
what  said  you  of  safe-conducts  ?" 

So  I  sliowed  him  the  rings,  and  told  him  that  my 
business  lay  by  word  of  mouth  with  his  father.  There- 
after I  laid  before  him  the  matter  of  the  scoundrels  run- 
ning at  me  nigh  to  Dalrymple  bridge.  Indeed,  we  could 
even  then  see  them  retiring  in  a  group. 

*'  Let  us  ride  to  the  bridge  head  now,  and  see  if  they 
will  molest  us  ?" 

And  this  we  did,  but  none  stirred  nor  showed  them- 
selves. 

"So,"  he  said,  '^'let  us  ride  on  to  Kerse." 

As  we  went  our  way  we  had  much  excellent  discourse 
of  the  news  of  the  countryside,  and  also  of  Edinburgh 
and  its  customs.  I  found  David  Crauford  a  fine  and 
brave  fellow,  and  regretted  heartily  that  he  was  not  on 
our  side  of  the  blanket — a  thing  wliich,  indeed,  I  was  too 
apt  to  do.  I  considered  it  an  unfair  thing  that  all  the 
shavelings  should  be  ours,  and  all  the  paladins  theirs. 
Yet  I  was  comforted  by  the  thought  that  it  was  easier  to 
be  distinguished  among  the  men  of  Cassillis  than  with 
Bargany — for  in  the  kingdom  of  the  blind  the  one-eyed 
man  is  king,  as  the  saw  hath  it. 

Thus  we  came  at  last  to  the  place  of  Kerse.  It  was  a 
handsome  tower,  with  additions  that  made  it  almost  a 
castle,  standing  upon  a  rising  ground  by  a  loch,  and  over- 
looked at  a  safe  distance  by  some  high  rocks  and  scaurs, 
which  David  Crauford  told  me  were  called  the  Craigs  of 
Kyle. 

It  was  the  slowest  time  of  the  afternoon  when  we  ar- 
rived at  the  ancient  strength,  and  David,  saying  that  his 
father  might  not  be  wakeful,  slipped  on  ahead,  in  order 
to  assure  me  a  proper  reception — so,  at  least,  he  said. 

And  at  the  doorway  I  was  met  by  many  men-at-arms, 
with  pikes  in  their  hands  and  feathers  in  their  bonnets. 
And  there  came  forth  to  meet  me  eight  of  the  twelve 


73  THE   GEAY   MAN 

brothers  of  Kerse,  all  bareheaded  and  with  swords  at  their 
sides.  In  the  background  I  could  see  the  cause  of  my 
adventuring — Currie,  the  Laird  of  Kelwood — bowing  and 
smirking  like  a  French  dancing-master.  But  I  never  so 
much  as  looked  his  way. 

''From  whom  come  you,  and  in  peace  or  Avar  ?"  said 
David  Crauford,  just  as  though  I  had  not  told  him — 
which  was  quite  right  and  proper,  for  these  commissions 
of  diplomacy  should  be  carried  out  with  decorum  and 
observance. 

"1  come,"  said  I,  "from  the  Earl  and  also  from  the 
Tutor  of  Cassillis,  and  am  commissioned  to  speak  with 
the  Laird  of  Kerse  in  their  name  and  on  their  behalf." 

With  that  I  was  conducted  through  a  lesser  into  a 
greater  hall,  at  the  upper  end  of  which  was  a  raised  plat- 
form, two  feet  or  so  above  the  floor.  The  hall  and  dais 
were  alike  strewed  with  yellow  bent  grass,  such  as  grows 
upon  the  sides  of  the  hills  and  on  the  seashore.  On  the 
dais  stood  a  great  oaken  chair  with  a  hood  about  it,  and 
in  it  there  sat  the  noblest  old  man  that  ever  I  saw.  He 
seemed  by  his  beard  and  hair  to  be  ninety  years  of  age  at 
the  least,  yet  his  natural  color  was  in  his  cheek,  and  he 
was  gleg  both  to  hear  and  to  speak. 

So  they  introduced  me,  and  I  went  up  to  the  old  man 
of  Kerse  to  show  my  credentials,  bending  my  knee,  but 
not  near  to  the  ground,  in  token  of  courtesy. 

''Come  hither,  David,  and  tell  me  what  are  the  posies 
on  the  rings." 

So  David  came  near,  and,  looking  at  my  hand,  he  read 
that  motto  of  the  Earl  of  Cassillis — "Avise  djin  /"  it  read. 

"  Ay,  ay,  that  will  do.  Let  the  lad  speak  his  message," 
said  the  old  man. 

Then  in  the  midst  of  threescore  Crauf ords  I  set  myself, 
with  my  shoulders  squared  and  my  hand,  on  my  hip,  to 
speak  the  message  of  my  lord.  I  do  not  deny  that  I  liked 
the  Job  well  enough,  for  it  was  the  sort  which  enables  a 


CARTEL   OF   COKTUMELY  73 

man  to  make  a  figure — thus  to  stand  alone  among  a  liost 
of  enemies,  and  speak  a  challenge  of  defiance. 

''Master  David  Crauford,  Laird  of  Kerse  and  Skeldon," 
said  I,  giving  out  his  titles  like  a  herald,  "  I  bear  you 
greeting  and  worship  from  John,  Earl  of  Cassillis,  and  Sir 
Thomas  Kennedy  of  Culzean,  Tutor  of  that  ilk." 

The  old  man  bowed  in  token  of  respect  for  the  formal 
courtesy.  *'  My  principals  bid  me  say  that  they  request 
and  demand  as  their  right  that  you  shall  deliver  uj?  to 
them  the  Laird  of  Kelwood,  their  liege  vassal,  presently 
rebel  and  fugitive  ;  and  also  that  you  render  back  the 
box  of  treasure  and  the  stones  of  price  which  they  have 
good  reason  to  believe  their  vassal  aforesaid  hath  con- 
cealed with  you.  These  being  done,  they  assure  you  of 
their  friendship  and  support  in  all  your  undertakings." 

So  I  gave  it  out  clearly,  formally,  dispassionately,  and 
without  heat,  as  one  that  is  accustomed  to  high  commis- 
sions. 

As  I  spoke  I  saw  the  old  man  gri])  his  staff  as  though  it 
had  been  a  sword,  and  ere  I  had  done  he  had  half  risen 
from  his  seat,  as  though  he  would  have  struck  me  to  the 
ground. 

"  And  you  dare,  you  beardless  birkie,  to  bring  such  a 
message  to  Crauford  of  Kerse,  in  his  own  hall  and  among 
his  own  folk  ?" 

But  I  stood  still  with  my  hand  on  my  side  as  before, 
looking  at  him  with  a  level  brow,  knowing  that  without  a 
weapon  in  my  hand,  and  with  a  double  safe-conduct  on 
my  finger,  I  had  by  far  the  best  of  i  t,  ay,  though  there  had 
been  a  thousand  Craufords  in  the  hall. 

"  Father,  father,"  said  David  from  behind,  as  one  ac- 
customed to  soothe  the  old  man's  anger.  '- 1  ken — I  ken 
bravely.  The  laddie  has  to  bring  his  message,  but  Scrap- 
ing Johnny  of  Cassillis  shall  rue  this  day.  Tell  him,"  he 
cried,  his  voice  rising  to  a  wild  scream,  "  that  I  have  seen 
no  doit  of  the  dirty  money  which  he  howks  out  of  every 


74  THE    GEAY   MAN" 

dub  with  his  swine's  snout.  The  Laird  of  Kelwood,  in- 
deed, I  have  with  me,  and  here  he  shall  bide  while  it  likes 
him — not  for  his  own  sake,  for  he  is  small  credit  either 
to  Kennedy  or  Crauford  (to  his  face  I  say  it),  but  because 
Kerse  is  an  eagle  sitting  on  high,  and  it  has  not  yet 
come  to  it  that  he  must,  forsooth,  throw  down  so  much 
as  a  well-pyked  bone  at  the  bidding  of  Cassillis." 

I  bowed  to  the  ground  as  having  gotten  my  answer. 
But  I  had  another  part  of  the  piece  still  to  play,  and  the 
doing  of  it  liked  me  even  better,  for  I  saw  that  this  time 
I  should  anger  not  only  the  old  man  but  the  young. 

"Then,"  said  I,  ''in  the  name  of  John,  Earl  of  Cas- 
sillis,  whom  ye  call  swine's  snout,  I  am  charged  to  tell 
you  that  if  ye  will  not  deliver  the  man  and  the  thing  that 
are  his  just  right,  then  will  my  master  come  and  gar  ye 
be  fain  to  deliver  them — " 

Then  there  went  a  murmur  of  scorn  and  anger  all  about 
the  hall,  and  the  white  locks  of  the  old  man  fairly  bristled 
on  his  head.  But  I  spoke  on,  level  as  a  clerk  that  reads 
his  lessons. 

"  Hearken  ye  to  the  word  of  Cassillis — the  last  word — 
gin  ye  refuse  he  will  come  on  Lammas  day  proximate,  and 
in  token  of  ignominy  and  despite  he  will  tether  a  brood 
sow  upon  the  lands  of  Kerse,  and  not  a  Crauford  shall 
steer  her  for  the  length  of  a  summer's  day." 

What  a  shout  of  anger  went  up  from  about  the  hall ! 
The  blades  of  the  young  men  fairly  blazed  from  their 
sheaths.  The  old  man  rose  in  his  chair  and  lifted  his  staff 
by  the  middle.  Two  tall  servitors  that  stood  at  the  back 
of  the  hall,  lighting  the  dusk  with  torches,  sjirang  forward 
ready  to  catch  him  should  his  strength  fail.  There  were 
at  least  thirty  swords  pointed  at  my  breast,  and  one  great 
lout  threatened  me  with  a  Lochaber  axe. 

But  with  my  heart  swelling  I  stood  still  and  calm  amid 
the  graceless  tumult,  like  one  of  the  carven  stones  which 
look  out  from  the  niches  of  Crossraguel.     Motionless  I 


CARTEL   OF   CONTUMELY  75 

stood  as  I  had  done  from  the  first,  for  I  was  a  herald  with 
an  earl's  message. 

"An  insult !  an  insult !  an  insult  in  the  hall  of  Kerse. 
Kill  the  black  Kennedy  !"  they  cried,  gnashing  on  me  with 
their  teeth  like  wild  beasts. 

I  declare  I  never  was  happier  in  my  life,  knowing  that 
I  had  made  that  day  a  figure  which  would  not  be  forgot- 
ten, and  that  my  bearing  among  them  would  be  spoken  of 
over  all  Carrick  and  Kyle.  How  I  wished  that  Marjorie 
Kennedy  could  have  seen  me.  And  I  smiled  as  I  thought 
how  little  it  mattered  after  this  whether  or  no  Nell 
Kennedy  turned  tale-pyet. 

"  I  will  take  the  smile  off  his  black  Kennedy's  face  with 
a  paik  of  this  Lochaber  axe  !"  cried  my  great  lout.  But 
indeed  I  smiled  not  at  him  nor  any  of  his  sept,  but  at  the 
thought  of  Nell  Kennedy. 

Then  when  they  had  roared  themselves  out  in  anger, 
they  became,  as  I  take  it,  some  deal  ashamed  of  the  hid- 
eous uproar,  and  of  a  sudden  were  silent — as  with  a  stave 
thrust  in  the  joint  and  a  twist  of  the  wrist  one  may  shut 
off  a  noisy  mill-lade. 

So  I  got  in  my  last  word. 

"  Thereafter,  John,  Earl  of  Cassillis,  bids  me  say  that 
he  will  leave  not  one  standing  stone  in  the  house  of  Kerse 
upon  another,  for  the  despite  and  contempt  done  to  him 
as  its  overlord." 

Then  the  loud  anger  gave  place  to  silent,  deadly  hate, 
and  it  was  some  time  before  any  could  speak.  David  the 
younger  would  have  spoken,  but  his  father  waved  him 
down,  fighting  for  utterance. 

''Hear  ye,  sir,  and  bear  this-  message  and  defiance  to 
your  master.  He  has  put  a  shame  on  us  in  this  our  own 
house.  Tell  him  that  he  may  bring  his  swine  to  Kerse 
every  Lammas  day,  and  fetch  with  him  every  swineherd 
Kennedy  from  every  midden-head  betwixt  Cassillis  and 
Ihe  Inch.     There  are  plenty  stout  Craufords  here  in  Kyle 


76  THE    GRAY    MAN 

that  can  flit  them.  Ay,  though  this  hand,  that  was  once 
as  the  axe  -  liand  of  the  Bruce,  be  shrunken  now,  and 
though  I  lean  on  these  bearers  of  torches  because  of  mine 
age,  tell  him  that  there  are  twelve  stout  sons  behind  me 
who  can  render  taunt  for  taunt,  blow  for  blow,  to  King 
or  Kennedy.  And  tell  him  that  Crauford  of  Kerse  knows 
no  overlord  in  earth  or  heaven — least  of  all  John  Ken- 
nedy, fifth  Earl  of  Cassillis  !" 

Then  I  bowed  as  one  might  before  some  of  the  glorious 
pagan  gods  of  whom  Dominie  Mure  has  tales  to  tell. 
For,  indeed,  that  was  an  answer  worth  taking  back,  and, 
being  a  man,  I  know  a  man  when  it  is  given  me  to  see  him. 
So,  with  my  face  to  him  still,  and  my  bonnet  in  my  hand, 
I  made  my  way  off  the  dais.  There  I  turned  me  about, 
and,  as  an  earl's  spokesman  should,  set  my  steel  bonnet 
on  my  head  to  go  out  alone  through  the  crowded  hall. 

But  the  old  man  stayed  me. 

''  Launcelot  Kennedy  of  Kirrieoch,"  he  said,  courteous- 
ly? "  to  you  and  not  to  your  master,  I  say  this.  Ye  have 
well  delivered  an  ill  message.  May  ye  never  get  your  fill 
of  fighting,  and  at  the  last  may  you  die  in  harness.  I 
would  to  God  ye  were  my  thirteenth  son !" 

So  I  bowed  again,  and  for  respect  I  walked  backAvards 
to  the  door  of  the  great  hall  with  my  head  again  bare. 
Then  I  helmed  myself  and  passed  without  to  Dom 
Nicholas. 

There  was  now  a  full  muster  of  Craufords  in  the  court- 
yard— a  hundred  of  them,  I  should  say,  at  least.  But 
no  murmur  arose  among  them  as,  helped  by  a  groom,  I 
mounted  and  moved  slowly  through  the  throng,  having 
saluted  David  the  younger  and  his  brothers  with  my 
hand. 

Then,  as  I  rode  through  the  gateway,  the  feet  of  Dom 
Nicholas  clattering  on  the  stones,  I  was  aware  of  a  troop 
of  twelve  that  followed  me,  all  well-accoutred  men  riding 
in  order.     And  I  knew  the  author  of  that  guard.     It  was 


CARTEL   OF   CONTUMELY  77 

David,  who  had  resolved  to  see  me  safe  across  Dalrymple 
bridge,  and  so  gave  me  the  attendance  of  a  prince. 

Then  knew  I  how  excellent  a  thing  it  is  to  have  to 
do  in  peace  or  war  with  gentlemen.  For  to  do  them 
justice,  the  Craufords  of  Kerse  were  neither  landloupers 
nor  ambuscaders. 


CHAPTER  X 
SIR  THOMAS   OF   THE   TOP-KNOT 

My  guard  of  honor  did  not  leave  me  till  I  was  within 
sight  of  the  towers  of  Cassillis,  when  David  Crauford  and 
his  men  parted  from  me  with  silent  salute.  Nor  had  the 
dyke-back  hiding  gentry  so  much  as  ventured  to  show 
their  faces.  So  I  rode  down  to  Cassillis  yett,  a  well- 
kenned  place  and  famous  in  story.  Down  a  smooth, 
green  mead  I  rode  to  it.  At  the  gate  the  porter,  a  surly 
rogue,  bade  me  stand. 

"  Stand  thou,  hang  thee,  pock-faced  varlet !"  I  cried  ; 
""  haste  thee  and  up  with  the  gates,  or  thine  ass's  ears 
shall  answer  for  it,  nailed  incontinent  to  a  post !" 

Whereupon,  seeing  him  Avondering  and  still  wavering, 
I  drew  off  my  glove  and  flashed  the  Earl's  broad  signet- 
ring  at  him.  I  declare  he  laid  hold  of  the  pulley  like  one 
demented. 

"  I  trust,  noble  sir,  that  ye  will  not  mention  the  matter 
of  my  hasty  greeting  to  my  lord,"  he  said  to  me  as  I  passed, 
for  the  rascal  was  shaking  in  every  limb. 

"Let  it  learn  you  to  be  better  scraped  as  to  the  tongue 
for  the  time  to  come,"  I  answered  sharply,  for  I  was  none 
sorry  once  for  all  to  read  the  villain  a  lesson.  There  is 
nothing  better  than  a  man  who  worthily  and  for  his  office's 
sake  magnifies  his  office,  but  there  is  nothing  more  scun- 
nering than  that  a  menial  knave,  in  pride  of  place,  should 
beard  his  betters. 

In  the  hall  of  Cassillis,  while  I  waited  for  my  lord,  I 
met  the  old  man  of  strange  aspect  who  had  been  with  us 


SIR   THOMAS    OP   THE   TOP-KNOT  79 

upon  tlie  Red  Moss.  He  was  dressed  in  a  long,  lank  robe 
like  a  soutane,  and  he  carried  a  book  with  him,  very  filthy 
and  tattered.  In  this  he  read,  or  pretended  to  read,  by- 
whiles,  muttering  and  mumbling  the  words  over  to  him- 
self. 

Seeing  me  stand  alone,  he  came  over  and  began  to  speak 
to  me  about  matters  that  I  knew  not  of — something  that 
concerned  the  Black  Vault  of  Dunure,  so  I  understood 
him  to  say. 

But  his  appearance  as  he  talked  caused  me  to  laugh, 
though,  being  an  old  man,  I  did  not  let  him  see  it.  His 
head  appeared  as  bald  all  about  as  is  a  hen's  egg.  But  on 
the  very  crown  there  was  an  oval  place  of  a  hand's  breadth 
or  thereby  from  which  drojiped  a  crest  of  yellow -white 
hair,  very  laughable  and  ludicrous.  For  as  the  old  man 
talked  the  silly  cockscomb  on  his  crown  waggled,  and, 
being  toothless,  his  jaw  waggled  also.  So  that  the  nut- 
cracker jaw  underneath  and  the  waggling  plume  aloft 
might  well  have  made  a  cat  laugh. 

"  I  am  Sir  Thomas  Tode,"  he  mumbled,  when  I  began 
to  get  a  little  familiar  with  his  shambling  speech — "ay  me, 
Sir  Thomas  Tode  "  (he  pronounced  the  word  as  though  it 
had  been  the  name  of  the  foul  beast  that  squats  on  its 
belly),  'Hhe  famous  Sir  Thomas  Tode  am  I.  Ay,  dear 
mother  Mary  —  I  mean  Christian  friends  —  but  a  feck  of 
life  it  has  been  my  lot  to  see." 

I  thought  within  me  what  a  strange  old  scare-the-crows 
this  was,  to  have  the  name  and  style  of  knighthood.  So 
I  asked  him  what  were  his  ancestral  possessions. 

"  I  am  only  poor  Sir  Thomas  Tode,  chaplain  to  two 
mighty  earls,"  he  said,  shaking  his  head  and  waggling  his 
top-knot,  till  he  looked  more  like  the  father  of  all  the  apes 
that  ever  were  than  a  sober  cleric. 

"Even  so,"  he  went  on,  "  I  was  bred  to  Holy  Church 
— I  mean  brought  up  in  ignorance,  to  serve  the  Whore 
that  sitteth  on  the  Seven  Hills.     I  was  chaplain  to  the 


80  THE    GEAT    MAN 

old  Lord  Gilbert^  the  father  of  the  Earl  John  that  is. 
Ah,  many  a  time  did  I  shrive  him  soundly,  and  none 
needed  it  more.  Faith,  but  he  was  a  ripe,  crusted  old 
sinner — " 

And  Sir  Thomas  Tode  chuckled  a  senile  laugh  at  his 
memories  of  the  b3^gone  wickedness  of  the  great. 

"  Faith,  I  doubt  shrewdly  that  he  fries  for  it  now.  For 
in  these  days  there  are  no  prayers  to  hoist  men  out  of 
purgatory  by  the  telling  down  of  the  good  broad  bonnet 
pieces — more's  the  pity  for  poor  honest  churchmen  !  Ah 
me,  the  times  that  were  !     The  times  that  were  !" 

The  old  man  paused  a  moment  to  think  the  matter 
over,  and  then  very  visibly  his  mind  went  wandering  after 
some  greater  and  yet  choicer  wickedness  which  he  might 
retail  to  me. 

"  Have  you  ever  heard,"  he  said,  at  last,  "  of  the  roast- 
ing of  the  Abbot  of  Crossraguel  ?  Man,  I  was  there — 
yes,  I  was  there — Tom  Tode  was  there,  and  turned  him 
on  the  iron  brander  till  I  burned  my  fingers  I" 

And  the  ancient  rascal  beat  merrily  on  the  floor  with 
his  stick  and  charked  together  his  toothless  gums. 

"Now  sit  ye  down,  and  I  shall  tell  you  all  that  took 
place  in  the  Black  Vaut  of  Dunure — " 

Just  then  I  saw  a  sonsy,  red-faced  woman,  ample  of 
bosom  and  with  many  plies  of  wylicoats  pleated  and 
gathered  about  her,  rise  from  the  black  stair  head — even 
as  Dominie  Mure  fables  that  Venus  (a  heathen  goddess, 
but  one  of  whose  ongoings  I  own  it  diverts  me  greatly  to 
hear)  did  from  the  sea.  With  three  strides  she  came 
across  the  hall  and  caught  Sir  Thomas  Tode  by  the  shock 
of  yellow-white  hair  on  his  crown. 

"  Be  ye  at  it  again  ?"  she  cried.  "  I  will  give  you  your 
fill  of  the  Black  Vaut  of  Dunure,  doddering  old  bleth- 
erer  that  ye  are.  Who  is  to  turn  my  sjoit,  I  would  have 
you  tell  me,  gin  you  waste  your  time  yammering  to  wan- 
chancy  lazybones  of  the  Black  Vaut  of  Dunure  ?    '  Black 


,.    I     i/\'!ri  ''■(  -.'I  I   '■111 

#fav:    If 


"TIE   WA8   nr.ESSF.D   TX    A   1,0X0,  T.AXK    TtOF.K   LIKE   A    SOUTANE" 


SIR  THOMAS   OF  THE  TOP-KNOT  81 

Vaut  of  Dunure'  indeed  !  You  have  told  your  lies  till 
I  declare  you  grow  to  believe  them  yourself  !" 

So  without  a  word  of  protest  from  the  knightly  lips  of 
Sir  Thomas  Tode,  he  was  led  below,  his  head  nodding 
and  bowing  as  his  captor  shook  the  yellow  top-knot. 

After  the  pair  were  gone  I  laughed  both  loud  and 
long,  so  that  they  had  to  fetch  me  nigh  on  a  gallon  of 
strong  ale  to  recover  me  of  my  access  of  mirth,  and  pre- 
pare me  for  the  presence  of  the  Earl. 

And  right  certainly  did  I  vow  within  my  heart  that  it 
would  not  be  long  before  I  renewed  acquaintance  with 
Sir  Thomas  and  his  tyrant,  for  it  seemed  a  strange  and 
merry  thing  to  see  an  earl's  chaplain  so  used.  It  was, 
indeed,  many  a  day  since  I  had  seen  such  sport. 

At  last  I  was  led  in  to  the  Earl.  He  sat  in  a  rich 
dressing-robe,  flowered  with  gold,  and  a  leather-bound 
book  with  knobs  and  studs  of  brass  lay  open  beside  him. 
It  was  the  account-book  of  his  estates  and  overlordships. 

"  What  was  that  loud  mirth  I  heard  a  moment  since  ?" 
he  asked,  for  the  Earl  John  did  not  seem  to  be  in  the 
best  of  tempers.  Indeed,  he  was  said  never  to  be  canny 
to  come  near  when  he  was  in  the  same  house  as  his  wife,  a 
thing  passing  strange,  but  not  wholly  without  precedent. 

I  answered  that  I  laughed  at  a  good  story  of  Sir 
Thomas  Tode,  his  private  chaplain. 

''My  what !"  he  cried.  "Oh,  ye  mean  old  Tode  of 
the  Top-knot  I  Was  his  story  about  the  Black  Vault  of 
Dunure  ?" 

And  without  stopping  for  an  answer  he  went  on  with 
one  of  his  proverbs,  just  as  though  he  had  not  sent  me 
on  an  errand,  and  that  in  peril  of  my  life.  I  never  met 
a  young  man  so  broadened  on  wiseacre  saws  and  proverbs 
in  my  life.  It  was  clean  ridiculous,  though  well  enough 
in  a  gap-toothed  grandfather,  no  doubt. 

"The  loud  laughter  of  the  idle  gathereth  no  gear," 
said  Earl  John. 

6 


83  THE   GRAY    MAN" 

"No/'  replied  I;  "but  since  it  cheers  the  heart  it 
costs  less  than  good  strong  ale." 

"Ay,  but,"  he  said,  breaking  in  and  looking  pleased — 
"but  you  have  had  some  deal  of  that,  too.    I  can  smell  it." 

Then  he  looked  briskly  up,  as  if  delighted  with  himself 
for  his  penetration,  and,  catching  me  with  my  hand  held 
guiltily  before  my  mouth,  he  smiled. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  can  you  not  come  to  the  point — 
why  stand  so  long  agape  ?     What  of  your  mission  ?" 

So,  being  nothing  loath,  I  told  him  the  whole  matter, 
much  as  I  have  related  it  in  this  place.  And  though  at 
the  beginning  he  sat  calmly  enough  to  listen,  long  before 
I  had  finished  he  was  striding  up  and  down  the  room 
gripping  at  his  thigh,  where  for  common  he  wore  his 
sword — for,  after  all.  Earl  John  was  a  true  Cassillis,  and 
neither  craven  nor  hen-hearted. 

"  And  they  roared  upon  you,  standing  still.  Nay,  you 
did  well !  I  wish  it  had  been  I !  Man,  I  Avill  give  you 
the  horse  you  rode  upon,  and  all  the  caparison.  I  de- 
clare I  will !" 

For  which  I  thanked  him  in  Avords  ;  but  in  my  heart  I 
said,  "  It  is  an  easy  present  to  give  that  Avhich  is  your 
uncle's,  and  hath  indeed  been  mine  for  weeks." 

Then  he  seemed  to  remember,  for  he  said,  "  But  give 
me  back  my  signet.  Ye  have  done  well,  and  on  Lammas 
day  ye  shall  do  better.  Will  ye  take  a  ring  or  a  sword 
for  a  keepsake  ?" 

A  moment  only  I  divided  my  mind.  A  ring,  if  good, 
Avould  indeed  buy  many  SAVords.  But  Cassillis  Avas  not 
the  man  to  give  a  ring  of  price.  ContrariAvise  a  SAvord 
was  a  thing  that  all  men  had  good  skill  of,  and  for  very 
shame's  sake  a  good  sword  Avould  he  give. 

"  I  crave  a  SAVord,"  said  I,  briefly. 

"  Ye  have  chosen  like  a  soldier.  I  shall  not  grudge 
you  the  Avale  of  swords,"  the  Earl  made  reply,  smiling 
upon  me,  well  pleased. 


SIR   THOMAS    OF   THE   TOP-KNOT  83 

So  with  that  he  went  out  into  the  armory,  and  came 
back  with  the  noblest  sword  I  had  ever  seen.  Blade, 
hilt,  and  scabbard  were  all  inlaid  with  scrolled  Damascus 
work  of  gold,  thin  limned  and  delicate — I  never  saw  the 
like.  And  my  blood  leaped  within  me — I  declare  to  my 
shame,  nigh  as  hotly  as  it  did  when  Marjorie  Kennedy 
kissed  me  on  the  brow  in  the  arbor  of  the  pleasance  at 
the  house  of  Culzean. 

•^"^  Buckle  it  on,  and  take  it  with  you,"  said  the  Earl, 
"lest  looking  long  upon  it  my  heart  should  smite  me, 
and  I  want  it  back  again." 

So  I  thanked  him,  and  presently  Avas  gone  without 
great  ceremony,  lest,  indeed,  it  should  be  so. 

"Stay  the  night  at  Cassillis,"  he  cried  after  me.  "I 
have  a  letter  to  send  to  my  eame  the  Tutor  in  the  morn- 
ing." 


CHAPTER  XI 
SWOED    AND    SPIT 

The  house  of  Cassillis  is  not  a  great  place  for  size 
to  be  so  famous.  But  the  Earl  has  many  castles,  to 
which  he  goes  oftentimes — specially  to  the  grand  house 
of  the  new  style  which  he  is  building  at  the  Inch,  and 
from  which  he  means  to  assert  his  overlordship  of  the 
Lairds  of  Galloway,  which,  as  I  see  it,  is  likely  to  breed 
him  trouble — more  than  if  he  had  stayed  here  at  home 
and  flairdied  his  old  gammer  mistress  into  good  humor. 

So,  leaving  his  presence,  I  went  to  see  that  Dom  Nich- 
olas had  the  best  of  food  and  bedding,  passing  through 
the  grooms  and  men-at-arms  in  the  bravery  of  my  Da- 
mascus sword,  walking  carelessly  as  though  I  wore  such 
like  every  day — a  thing  I  liked  well  to  do.  I  also  made 
them  change  the  straw  for  better,  though,  indeed,  there 
was  little  to  find  fault  with.  But  it  is  always  best  when 
one  goes  first  into  the  stables  of  the  great  to  speak  loud, 
to  cry,  "  Here,  sirrah,  what  means  this  ?"  And  then 
order  fresh  bedding  to  be  brought,  and  that  instantly. 
Thus  I  made  myself  respected,  and  so  walked  out,  while 
the  grooms  bowed,  pulling  the  while  at  my  mustache 
and  pressing  upon  the  hilt  of  my  sword,  so  that  the 
point  stood  out  at  the  proper  angle  behind  with  my 
cloak  a-droop  over  it,  as  I  have  said. 

Then,  on  my  way  back  to  the  house,  I  must  needs  pass 
— or  so  I  made  it  appear — through  the  kitchens,  Avhere  I 
found  my  tyrant  Venus-of-the-fiery-face  in  the  act  of 
cooking  the  supper. 


SWOKD   AND   SPIT  85 

Seeing  me  lean  against  the  baking-board,  dressed  so 
cap-d-pie,  she  came  and  brushed  me  a  place  to  sit  upon. 
Then  she  asked,  "  AVould  I  be  pleased  to  drink  a  cup  of 
sack — rare  and  old  ?" 

So,  seeing  her  set  on  it,  I  denied  her  not ;  but  sat 
down,  unbuckling  my  weapon  for  ease's  sake,  and  throw- 
ing it  down  with  clank  of  blade  and  jingle  of  buckle  on 
the  clear-scoured  boards  of  the  great  deal  table  in  the 
midst.  The  Lord  forgive  me  for  caring  so  mightily 
about  these  things  and  so  little  for  going  to  church  ! 
Some  good  day,  doubtless,  I  shall  change  about.  And 
in  the  meanwhile,  what  would  you  ? 

Were  you  that  chance  to  read  never  eighteen  and 
thought  you  not  well  of  yourself,  having  a  new  sword  ? 
If  not,  the  Lord  pity  you.     It  is  little  ye  ken. 

But  all  the  while  I  longed  to  hear  more  of  Sir  Thomas 
Tode,  and,  if  it  might  be,  to  see  him.  So  I  asked  of  the 
lady  of  the  pans  where  her  husband  was. 

She  set  her  thumb  over  her  shoulder,  pointing  to  a 
narrow  door  as  of  an  aumrie  or  wall-press. 

"  He  is  in  there,"  she  said,  shortly. 

"And  what  else  is  there  in  there  ?"  said  I,  laughing, 
for  what  was  I  the  wiser  ? 

"  Half  a  bullock  is  in  there,"  she  said,  laughing  also. 
"  That  is  the  meat-cuj^board.  It  is  fine  and  caller,  and 
he  is  not  troubled  with  flies  upon  his  miserable  bald 
head." 

"The  meat-safe!"  cried  I,  much  astonished;  "and 
what  does  a  reverend  chaplain  and  a  knight  in  the  meat- 
safe  ?" 

"  The  old  dotard  will  not  quit  his  maundering  about 
the  Black  Vaut  of  Dunure  to  every  one  that  comes  near. 
He  got  hold  of  a  silly  chapman  in  the  yard  that  came 
Avith  fish  from  Ayr,  and  I  declare  he  must  sit  down  and 
prate  by  the  hour  of  the  Black  Vaut  of  Dunure.  So  I 
shut  him  up  in  the  meat-safe.     Faith,  I  will  give  him 


86  THE   GEAY   MAN 

Black  Vant  of  Dunure  ere  I  have  done  with  him.  The 
Black  Vaut  of  Cassillis  and  the  company  of  the  dinner 
roast  will  set  him  better." 

"  And  what  says  my  lord  to  your  nsing  his  chaplain  so  ?" 

The  lady  gazed  at  me  a  moment  in  a  kind  of  wilder- 
ment.  Then  she  broke  into  the  vulgar  speech  of  the 
country,  which,  because  I  learned  to  write  English  as 
those  at  the  Queen's  Court  do,  I  have  used  but  seldom 
in  this  chronicle  —  though,  of  course,  not  for  lack  of 
knowledge. 

"Sain  me,"  she  said,  "this  maybe  a  queer,  uncanny 
world,  but  it  is  surely  no  come  to  that  o't  yet,  that  a 
wife  manna  check  and  chastise  her  ain  man.  Guid 
Lord,  no — life  wadna  be  worth  leevin'.  .  See  till  this — " 
she  said. 

And  taking  a  key  from  her  pocket  she  rapidly  un- 
locked the  door  of  the  meat-closet. 

Sir  Thomas  was  discovered  sitting  most  forlornly  with- 
in, upon  the  corner  of  a  great  chest,  with  many  pieces 
of  meat  depending  from  hooks  about  his  head.  His 
wife,  reaching  in  from  the  step,  took  him  by  the  top- 
knot of  the  hair  as  by  a  handle,  and  pulled  him  out 
upon  the  floor  of  the  kitchen  with  one  movement  of  her 
arm. 

"It's  a  guid's  mercy,"  she  cried,  "that  yince  ye  Avar  a 
papish  monk  wi'  a  shaven  crown,  for  the  place  that  ye 
keepit  bare  sae  lang  has  ripened  late,  after  a'  the  lave  o' 
the  crap  has  been  blawn  awa'  wi'  the  wind." 

I  had  been  endeavoring  to  explain  to  myself  the 
strangeness  of  the  wisp  upon  Sir  Thomas's  head,  but  the 
words  of  his  wife  made  clear  the  matter.  It  was  but 
the  retarded  growth  of  his  long  fallow  tonsure. 

"  An'  it's  a  de'il  o'  a  queer  thing,"  said  Mistress  Tode, 
"that  turning  your  coat  ootsicle  in  should  turn  your 
hair  inside  oot  !     Heard  ye  ever  the  mak'  o'  that  ?" 

"  It  was  all  owing  to — "  began  Sir  Thomas  Tode,  look- 


SWORD   AND   SPIT  87 

ing  at  his  wife  with  a  cringing  shamefacedness  that  was 
most  entertaining. 

"  Oh,  I  ken/'  interrupted  his  wife  ;  "  it  was  owing  to 
the  Bhick  Vaut  o'  Dunure,  nae  doot !  I  declare  I  canna 
hand  ye  aff  it.  I  jaloose  that  it  maun  hae  been  owing 
to  the  Black  Vaut  o'  Dunure  that  Mary  Greg,  a  decent 
cook  woman  and  a  deacon  in  her  trade,  took  up  wi'  the 
likes  o'  you  —  that  mak's  yoursel'  nae  better  than  a 
mountibank  wi'  your  yammer -yammering  like  a  corn- 
crake aboot  black  vauts  and  roasted  abbots.  Fegs,  I 
declare  I  could  roast  ye  yoursel'.  Ye  are  that  muckle 
thocht  and  care  to  me,  but  ye  wadna  pay  for  the  trouble. 
Even  the  Earl  himsel'  couldna  mak'  a  profit  oot  o'  you — 
an'  a'  folk  kens  that  he  wad  drive  a  flea  to  London  mar- 
ket for  the  sake  o'  the  horns  and  hide  !" 

"  Wheesht,  wheesht,  honest  woman  !"  said  Sir  Thomas 
Tode,  "  wha  kens  wha  may  be  listenin' — maybe  the  Coun- 
tess her  very  sel'." 

"  Faith,  an'  I  carena,"  cried  the  brave  cook,  tossing 
her  head  ;  "she  is  a  backstairs  body  at  ony  gate,  but  she 
canna  fear  me — na,  brawly  no'.  I  ken  ower  muckle.  I 
ken  things  the  Earl  doesna  ken.  Certes  an'  serve  him 
richt — a  young  man  like  him — but  three-an'-twenty,  to 
mairry  his  grandmitlier.  Though  guid  kens  Mary  Greg 
is  no  the  woman  to  speak,  that  mairried  nocht  better 
than  an  auld  skeleton  hung  on  strings — for  nae  sounder 
reason  than  that  it  is  the  custom  for  the  cook  in  a  decent 
big  hoose  to  tak'up  wi'the  chaplain." 

The  kitchen  began  to  fill,  and  I  bethought  me  that  I 
should  be  going ;  for  it  was  not  seemly  that  a  gentleman 
and  a  squire  should  collogue  overly  long  with  all  the  orra 
serving  men  and  women  in  a  great  house.  But  before  I 
could  lift  my  sword  and  depart  there  came  in  a  dark, 
burly  man  with  a  sharp-cleft  eagle's  face  on  him,  his  eyes 
very  close  together,  and  a  contemptuous  sneer  that  was 
liker  a  snarl,  on  his  face. 


88  THE   GRAY   MAN 

"G-ood  e'en  to  ye,  John  Dick/'  said  the  cook.  ''  Mind 
ye  keep  the  peace,  ye  wull-cat,  for  there  are  to  be  no 
collieshangies  in  my  kitchen  !" 

A  voice  called  something  querulously  down  the  stairs. 

"  Coming  the  noo,  my  leddy,"  cried  Mrs.  Tode,  the 
cook  of  Cassillis,  "1  am  juist  pittin'  on  the  pot — " 

And  she  vanished  up  the  stair. 

As  soon  as  she  was  gone,  Sir  Thomas  appeared  to  wake 
up  from  a  dream.     He  looked  eagerJy  around  him. 

"  She  Avill  not  be  back  for  a  while,"  he  said.  "  I  might 
have  a  chance.  I  maun  tell  you  of  the  roasting  of  the 
abbot.  Man,  I  saw  it — I  was  there.  I  held  him  on  the 
ribs  o'  the  grate.  I  set  him  on  the  brander,  and  poured 
the  oil  on  him  that  he  might  be  roasted  in  sop.  Oh, 
man,  ye  think  I  am  a  fool.  Ever  since  that  day,  never 
hae  I  been  alone  without  seeing  the  face  o'  him,  crying 
out  for  them  to  ding  Avhingers  into  him,  or  blaw  him  up 
wi'  powder  to  ease  him — the  auld  Earl  girnin'  at  him  like 
a  wild-cat,  and  hunkering  low  to  watch,  with  his  hands 
on  his  knees.  Oh,  young  men,  never  you  put  your  hand 
to  the  torture  of  man,  for  it  bides  with  you  in  the  brain 
— ^just  as,  asleep  or  awake,  night  or  day,  I  see  the  Black 
Vaut  o'  Dunure  !" 

"Good  life,"  cried  his  wife,  entering  briskly  at  the 
moment,  "  is  it  possible  that  the  auld  fule  is  at  it  again? 
The  very  de'il's  in  the  craitur.  He  thinks  that  he  was 
at  the  roastin'  o'  a  man,  whan  a'  the  roastin'  he  has  done 
in  his  life  has  been  turnin'  the  spit  in  this  decent  hoose 
o'  Cassillis.  Come  awa',  ye  doitered  auld  loon,  what  did 
I  tell  ye  the  last  time  ?  Into  the  keepin  chamber  wi' 
you  !" 

And  she  caught  him  by  the  top  lock  to  lead  him  away 
once  more.  But  I  plead  for  him,  saying  that  I  had  never 
heard  of  his  fantasy,  and  had  indeed  encouraged  him  to 
begin. 

The  tall  man  who  had  been  called  John  Dick,  the  fel- 


SWOED  AND   SPIT  89 

low  of  the  hateful  countenance,  in  whose  eyes  there  Avas 
the  insolence  of  challenge,  at  this  point  stalked  up  to  the 
table  on  which  my  sword  still  lay.  He  took  it  in  his 
hand  with  a  contemj^tuous  air,  examined  the  Damascus 
work  of  fine  gold,  and  was  about  to  draw  the  blade  from 
its  sheath. 

"That  sword  is  mine," said  I,  scarcely  looking  at  the 
fellow,  "and  does  not  leave  its  scabbard  save  when  I 
draw  it." 

"And  then,"  quoth  he,  with  a  bitter  sneer,  "I  opine 
it  will  not  do  much  damage.  'Tis  but  a  bairn^s  plaik  at 
any  rate  !     And  in  fit  hands  !" 

"  It  may  be  that  you  would  like  to  try,  sirrah,"  said  I, 
slipping  my  hip  off  the  table  and  buckling  on  my  sword 
with  one  movement. 

"  Very  willingly,"  said  he  of  the  sneer.  "'  Come  out 
to  the  green." 

But  before  I  could  move  to  end  the  matter  there  arose 
from  the  corner,  where  he  had  been  lying  on  an  oaken 
settle,  a  tall,  slender  lad  of  foreign  aspect  and  distinction. 
He  had  on  him  a  green  suit  like  the  Eoyal  hunting  liver- 
ies. A  long,  plain  sword  in  a  black  leather  scabbard 
swung  by  his  side. 

"Launcelot  Kennedy  of  Kirrieoch,"  he  said,  boAving 
to  me,  "  I  am  Robert  Harbiirgh,  and  though  for  the  time 
being  I  serve  here  as  little  better  than  a  scullion,  I  am 
yet  of  some  blood  and  kindred.  Therefore  I  shall  do 
you  no  shame.  And  you,  sir,"  said  he,  turning  to  John 
Dick,  who  stood  lowering,  "  being  your  equal  here,  I  can 
serve  your  turn  to  cross  swords  with  —  and  spare  this 
gentleman  the  discomfort  of  defiling  his  sword  of  honor 
with  such  black,  ignoble  blood  as  yours." 

And  with  that  he  whipped  out  a  long,  straight  sword 
which  glittered  in  the  firelight.  John  Dick  turned  up 
his  lip  wickedly,  so  that  we  saw  his  teeth,  and  the  black, 
curly  fringe   of  hair   about  his  face  stood  out,  till  his 


90  THE   GKAY   MAK 

visage  was  like  that  of  an  angry,  ramjnng  bull  of  Gal- 
loway. 

There  were  only  men  in  the  kitchen  when  the  fracas 
arose,  for  Mistress  Tode  had  gone  to  do  some  errand  for 
the  Countess. 

"Yon  are  surely  a  stark  man,"  said  John  Dick,  ''to 
mell  or  meddle  with  me.  Ken  ye  that  I  have  wounded 
more  men  with  my  whinger  than  I  have  fingers  on  my 
right  hand  ?" 

"And  how  many  may  that  be?"  said  the  young  man 
who  had  espoused  my  cause. 

"  Why,  four,"  said  John  Dick,  surprised  at  the  question. 

"  Then  in  a  little  while  you  shall  have  one  less — and 
that  is  but  three.     Guard  yourself  !" 

And  there  in  the  red  dusk  of  the  kitchen  they  cleared 
themselves  for  fighting,  and  their  blades  met  with  so  stern 
a  clash  that  sparks  were  driven  from  the  steel.  But 
Harburgh,  my  young  and  melancholy  Dane,  forced  the 
fighting  from  the  first,  driving  Dick  before  him  round  the 
narrow  and  enclosed  place,  countering  and  attacking  with 
such  dexterity  and  fury  as  I  had  never  seen,  though  for 
years  I  myself  had  been  a  sound  swordsman.  But  such 
fighting  as  this  I  saw  not — no,  not  in  the  schools  which 
the  King  had  set  up  in  Edinburgh  to  be  used  instead  of 
golf  and  sic  like  foolish  games,  which  the  men  of  the  east 
country  love  to  play  in  their  idle  folly  and  Avantonness. 

They  had  not  gone  far  when  my  champion,  using  a 
snicking  undercut  I  had  never  seen,  severed  the  little 
finger  of  his  opponent,  at  the  second  joint  just  where  it 
overlaid  the  hilt,  so  that  the  tip  of  it  fell  on  the  floor. 
Whereat  Sir  Thomas  Tode  lifted  it  and  wrapped  it  with 
care  in  two  sheets  of  clean  scrivening  paper  which  he  took 
from  his  pocket. 

But  John  Dick,  who  after  all  was  a  man,  though  a  crab- 
grained  and  ill-conditioned  one,  only  called  a  halt  for  a 
moment  and  wrapped  his  wounded  finger  in  a  napkin. 


CO 

a 

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o 

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H 
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CO 

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GO 

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DO 

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2 


SWORD    AND    SPIT  91 

drawing  the  cincture  close  with  cord.  And  he  was  in  the 
act  of  continuing  the  fight,  and  pressing  his  adversary  for 
revenge,  being  resolved  to  kill  him  for  the  afEront,  when, 
with  a  loud  outcry,  Mistress  Tode  rushed  down  the  stairs. 
She  seized  a  huge  spit,  and  with  the  sharpened  end  so 
briskly  attacked  both  the  combatants,  battering  them 
soundly  about  their  heads,  that  they  were  compelled  to 
desist. 

And  it  was  most  comical  to  see  these  fierce  and  con- 
fident fighters  drop  their  swords'  points  and  shield  their 
heads  with  their  hands  to  ward  oif  the  blows  of  the 
stick. 

"  Varlets  !"  she  screamed.  "  Briskly  I  will  learn  you 
to  fight  and  tulzie  in  my  kitchen.  Out  with  you !"  she 
cried,  giving  John  Dick  the  sharpened  end  of  her  weapon 
in  liis  wame,  "  out  with  you,  for  it  was  your  de'il's  temper 
that  began  the  fray." 

And  so,  having  opened  the  door,  she  fairly  thrust  him 
out  into  the  night.  But  she  had  not  time  to  close  it  again 
before  one  whom  none  of  us  had  seen  came  within  the  cir- 
cle of  red  light.  He  was  a  man  of  a  dignified  countenance, 
dressed  in  black,  and  he  held  a  plain  staff,  also  of  black, 
in  his  hand.  On  his  head  there  was  a  broad  hat  with  a 
cord  about  it.  Upon  his  coat  he  wore  no  ornament  save 
a  broad  black  silk  collar  which  lay  upon  his  shoulders, 
and  over  that  again  there  fell  another  collar  of  fair,  soft 
linen,  very  white  and  well  dressed. 

"What  means  this  tumult  in  the  house  of  Cassillis  ?" 
he  asked,  speaking  as  one  that  has  authority,  and  has  been 
accustomed  to  wield  it  unquestioned  for  many  years. 

Now  there  was  not  a  man  there  but  longed  to  ask,  "  And 
who  may  you  be  that  sjieers  ?"  But  none  answered  rude- 
ly, for  the  awe  that  Avas  upon  them. 

Then  at  last  Eobert  Harburgh  said  to  him,  but  courte- 
ously, "  Sir,  you  ask  of  the  tumult.  It  was  a  matter  that 
concerns  those  only  that  fought  upon  their  own  proper 


93  THE   GEAy    MAN" 

quarrel.     It  concerns  neither  you  nor  yet  my  Lord  Cas- 
sillis,  in  whose  house  ye  presently  are." 

"  Lead  me  to  my  lord  V  he  said,  as  one  who  had  only 
to  speak  that  the  doors  might  be  opened. 

But  Robert  Harburgh  withstood  him  and  would  not 
suffer  him  to  pass. 

"  Let  me  see  the  Earl  of  Cassillis  instantly  !"  said  he. 

''The  Earl  is  at  supper,"  said  Eobert  Harburgh,  ''and 
cannot  be  disturbed." 

"I  will  eat  with  him,"  said  the  stranger,  calmly. 

Then  when  some  scullion  laughed,  for  of  custom  those 
who  ate  with  the  Earl  of  Cassillis  entered  not  by  the 
kitchen  door,  the  unknown  made  a  gesture  of  extraor- 
dinary contempt  and  jQt  withal  of  a  mavellous  dignity. 

"  Go,  instantly,"  he  commanded,  pointing  to  the  stair 
door  with  his  finger,  "  and  tell  your  master  that  Eobert 
Bruce,  Minister  of  Edinburgh  Town,  would  see  him  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  and  of  His  Highness  the  King  of 
Scots." 

And  Robert  Harburgh,  who  had  just  outflouted  John 
Dick,  the  ruffler  of  camps,  bowed  before  him.  And  as 
for  me  I  took  my  bonnet  oft'  my  own  head  and  saluted, 
for  there  was  no  one  of  us  who  had  not  heard  of  the 
famous  and  well-rejDuted  minister,  to  whom  the  King 
had  committed  the  rule  and  governance  of  all  the  realm 
during  the  half-year  he  was  in  Denmark  busy  marrying 
of  his  queen. 

So  Avitli  Robert  Harburgh  leading  and  myself  follow- 
ing, the  minister  passed  up  the  stair  with  due  attend- 
ance, and  into  the  supper-chamber  where  the  Earl  and 
Countess  took  their  meal  at  even,  mostly  without  speech 
each  with  the  other.  And  when  through  the  open  door 
I  saw  the  Earl  welcome  his  guest  as  he  would  have  done 
the  King  himself,  and  especially  when  I  heard  their  se- 
rious and  weighty  conversation,  the  thought  came  to  me 
that  it  was  well  tliat  there  were  men  in  Scotland  able  to 


SWORD   AND   SPIT  93 

make  religion  so  to  be  honored.  Tlien  again  I  langhed, 
thinking  of  the  mighty  difference  tliat  there  was  between 
Maister  Robert  Bruce,  Minister  of  Edinburgh  and  some- 
time ruler  of  Scotland,  and  poor  Sir  Thomas  Tode, 
domestic  chaplain  to  the  Earl  of  Cassillis  and  the  well- 
pecked  husband  of  Mary  Greg,  his  cook. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE    FLITTING    OF   THE   SOW 

It  was  Lammas  day,  and  the  strange  wager  of  battle 
was  about  to  be  fought.  Maister  Eobert  Bruce,  who 
had  composed  so  many  quarrels  (and  made  so  many  more 
in  the  doing  of  it),  had  altogether  and  utterly  failed  to 
make  up  this  one.  So  he  had  passed  south  to  his  friend 
and  favorer  the  Laird  of  Bargany,  who  for  all  his  soldier- 
ship was  ever  great  for  the  honor  of  the  Kirk.  I  hope 
that  the  Minister  of  Edinburgh  made  more  of  him  than 
he  made  of  Earl  Jolin,  of  whom  ho  gat  nothing  but  fair 
speeches  and  most  indifferent  drink,  which  were  indeed 
in  my  time  the  staples  of  Cassillis  hospitality. 

Now  it  so  happened  that  Sir  Thomas  Kennedy,  my 
master,  could  not  move  from  his  chair,  much  less  sit  a 
horse,  because  of  that  old  income  in  the  knee,  which 
ever  in  the  hot  season  of  the  year  caused  him  so  much 
pain  and  trouble.  Thus  it  fell  to  me  to  lead  our  small 
levy  from  the  lands  of  Culzean,  for  we  were  near  to  the 
country  of  the  Barganies,  and  it  would  not  do,  in  the 
absence  of  an  armistice,  to  denude  our  head  castle  of  all 
the  fighting  men  that  were  thereabout. 

The  morn  of  Lammas  was  one  that  promised  to  open 
out  into  a  day  of  fervent  heat,  for  the  mists  rose  lazily, 
but  did  not  dissolve  as  the  sun  climbed  the  skies.  Yet 
it  was  a  morning  that  pleasured  me  beyond  telling,  as  I 
buckled  on  my  new  sword  of  price,  and  rode  out  to  fight. 
I  am  not  averse  from  fighting,  but  I  own  it  is  the  riding 
out  in  array  that  I  chiefly  love. 


THE    FLITTING    OF   THE    SOW  95 

What  a  heartsome  siglit  it  was  when  we  turned,  our 
faces  towards  Cassillis  Yett,  and  saw  the  companies  of 
Kennedies  come  riding  and  running  over  every  green 
knoll — long,  upright  men  of  the  south  who  had  started 
the  night  before  from  far  Minnochside  and  Auchneil, 
shoukler-bent  shoremen  who  came  over  the  edge  of  Brown 
Carrick,  pikemen,  spearmen,  and  hackbuttmen,  together 
with  a  multitude  of  limber,  pranksome  lads  with  only  a 
leathern  jacket  and  a  whinger. 

When  we  came  to  Cassillis  Yett,  there  by  the  road-end 
was  Sir  Thomas  Tode,  who  was  charged  to  tell  us  that  my 
lord  had  gone  on  before  us  with  many  soldiers  and  horse- 
men. They  had  taken  also  with  them  a  trail-cart,  being 
a  box  with  shafts  like  a  carriage,  but  without  wheels, 
mounted  on  a  great  brush  of  branches  and  twigs,  which 
stuck  out  behind  and  scored  the  ground  with  a  thousand 
ruts  and  scratches.  This  Avas  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
sow,  which  from  sundawn  to  sunset  was  to  be  tethered, 
in  despite  and  contempt,  upon  the  lands  of  the  Craufords 
of  Kerse.  For  that  was  the  wager  of  battle  between  the 
Kennedies  and  the  Craufords. 

The  place  where  Ave  found  the  Earl  and  his  tethered 
sow  was  well  chosen.  It  was  a  three-cornered  piece  of 
land,  of  which  two  sides  were  defended  by  the  Doon  Water 
sharply  bending  back  upon  itself,  while  across  the  broad 
base  of  the  triangle  there  ran  a  moss.  The  beating  of  the 
drums  and  the  playing  of  pipes  were  on  all  the  hills  ;  and 
so  gay  and  cheerful  was  the  scene  that  it  might  have  been 
a  fair  or  a  weapon-shawing,  for  the  sound  of  merrymaking 
and  deray  that  there  was  all  about. 

The  Doon,  that  should  run  so  red  at  sunset,  now 
sparkled  pure  and  clear  in  the  light  of  morning,  and  the 
speckled  piets  and  pigeons  scudded  here  and  there  among 
the  coppices.  We  had  not  been  long  established  on  this 
tongue  of  land  with  our  tethered  sow  when  there  arose  a 
crying  among  the  outposts,  and  word  was  brought  that 


96  THE    GRAY    MAIT 

from  all  the  Craigs  of  Kyle,  and  out  of  all  the  country  of 
the  east,  the  Craufords  and  their  allies  were  gathering  to 
the  trysted  fray. 

Presently  we  saw  them  top  the  brae  in  ordered  com- 
panies. It  was  bonny  to  see  them  come  stringing  down 
the  sides  of  the  hills,  now  going  singly  like  cattle  along  a 
path  in  the  steep  places,  and  now  forming  into  squadrons 
and  companies  on  the  plain  ground.  The  sunshine  sifted 
through  the  thin  clouds  as  through  a  sieve,  and  made  a 
strange  pale  glittering  on  their  war-gear,  so  that  all  the 
country  round  was  lit  up  with  little  sparkling  flashes  of 
fire,  like  the  wave  tops  when  the  sun  rises  out  of  the  east- 
ern sea. 

They  had  their  drums  also,  though  it  was  the  latest  of 
many  affronts  that  the  Kennedies  had  put  holes  in  all  the 
Crauford  drums  which  were  in  the  town  of  Ayr  upon  the 
last  market-day.  And  this  quarrel  also  had  to  be  settled. 
Presently  we  could  see  all  twelve  of  the  stalwart  sons  lead- 
ing on  their  vassals  from  the  brown  hills.  They  were  a 
sunburnt  company,  because  it  was  about  the  Lammastide, 
when  the  muirmen  are  wont  to  be  out  all  day  at  the  water- 
sides at  the  winning  of  the  meadow  hay — the  crop  which 
is  hard  to  grow,  ill  to  mow,  but  worst  of  all  to  gather  into 
barn,  as  the  saying  goes  in  the  parts  of  the  outland  hills. 

It  was  nine  of  the  morning  when  the  Craufords  moved 
to  the  attack.  All  this  while  the  loathly  sow,  that  was  at 
once  provocation  and  offence,  lay  ujoon  a  little  mound  in 
the  midst  of  our  camp,  grunting  and  grumphing  most 
filthily.  The  Earl  had  set  a  little  snii^e  of  a  raggetty  loon 
to  stir  her  up  with  a  pointed  stick,  so  that  she  should  not 
go  to  sleep,  but  should  grunt  and  disport  herself  as  she 
ought.  Being  thus  encouraged,  the  boy  did  his  work  to 
admiration,  and  the  old  grouting  wretch  kept  up  such  a 
snorking  and  yellyhooing  that  she  could  be  heard  almost 
from  Dalrymple  Kirk  to  the  Mains  of  Kerse. 

Then  there  was  a  pause  for  parley.     Of  this  I  will  not 


THE    FLITTING    OF   THE   SOW  97 

write  at  length,  because  it  was  for  the  most  part  but  rude- 
ness and  dirtiness  that  were  bandied  about  and  between 
— each  party  miscalling  the  other  for  greater  thieves  and 
worse  murderers  than  their  neighbors.  Even  in  this  I  do 
not  think  we  had  the  worst  of  it,  for  John  Dick  (whose 
finger-stump  was  well  healed)  spat  out  oaths  as  if  for  a 
wager.  And  Muckle  Hugh  miscalled  the  Oraufords  in  a 
voice  like  thunder,  as  though  they  had  been  dogs  that 
would  not  run  aright  upon  the  hillsides  of  Kirriemore,  in 
that  dear  land  which  looks  towards  Galloway. 

N.0W  I  cannot  say  that  I  was  keen  of  this  particular 
quarrel.  For  though  there  was  some  pleasure  in  making 
a  figure  in  the  great  hall  at  Kerse,  I  foresaw  but  a  brawl- 
ing of  clowns  and  the  splattering  of  confused  fighting 
without  honor  or  chivalry  in  this  affair  of  swine  and 
blundering  melees.  Yet,  because  I  was  there  in  the 
place  of  my  knight,  I  could  do  no  more  than  Just  bear 
the  brunt  and  abide. 

Presently  the  Oraufords  came  on  with  their  horsemen 
first  and  the  pikemen  behind.  But  the  mounted  men 
came  not  far,  for  the  bog  laired  their  horses,  and  they 
sank  deeper  and  deeper  at  every  step.  Then  the  foot- 
men came  between  them  and  charged  up  to  our  foremost 
lines,  so  that  we  were  hand-to-hand  and  hard  at  it  in  a 
trice.  It  was  not,  however,  the  work  of  many  minutes 
to  gar  them  turn  about  and  run,  for  our  froni  was  solid 
and  broad,  while  the  hackbutt  shooters  had  fine  rests  for 
their  guns,  so  that  on  a  still  day  they  could  bring  a  man 
down  at  thirty  yards  or  more.  A  good  many  Oraufords 
were  already  splattering  like  wounded  waterfowl  in  the 
moss  which  protected  our  front. 

After  this  we  had  time  to  look  across  the  Doon  Water, 
from  which  there  was  a  crying.  And  lo  !  there  on  the 
bank  stood  our  late  guest,  Maister  Robert  Bruce,  the 
Minister  of  Edinburgh. 

But  our  Earl  was  now  too  hot  to  think  of  courtesy,  so 

7 


98  THE    GKAY   MAN 

he  bade  the  minister  stop  where  he  was,  or  come  over 
and  take  a  pike  by  the  end  ;  and  this  greeting  made  me 
sorry,  for  he  was  a  grand-looking  man,  with  his  long 
black  cloak  and  his  noble  black  horse,  which,  they  say, 
had  once  been  the  King's  own  charger. 

So  I  took  the  great  risk  of  drawing  the  Earl  aside,  and 
urged  nj)on  him  that  he  should  call  a  parley  and  see  what 
the  minister  wanted.  This,  very  reluctantly,  he  did,  and 
we  could  hear  Maister  Bruce  speaking  from  over  the 
Doon  Water  clearly,  as  if  he  had  been  in  his  own  pulpit» 

"  In  the  King's  name  I  bid  you  cease,"  he  cried  ;  '''and 
in  God's  name  I  debar  and  forbid  you  !  If  ye  persist,  I 
shall  deliver  you  to  Satan,  so  that  ye  may  learn  that  it  is 
dangerous  to  despise  authority." 

"  Hoot  toot,  Maister  Bruce,  the  days  of  curses  are  by 
with,"  said  the  Earl ;  "  and,  besides,  the  most  of  us  have 
ta'en  a  heap  of  risks  afore  iioo.  We  can  e'en  afford  to 
take  another." 

"1  wish  to  speak,"  said  the  minister,  "with  Crauford 
of  Kerse." 

"Then  gang  farther  up  the  waterside  and  gie  a  cry. 
There's  nae  Craufords  here  except  dead  anes  !"  said  the 
Earl,  who  had  his  daft  coat  on  him  that  day,  so  that  we 
feared  he  had  been  bewitched. 

But  the  young  men  of  the  Craufords  would  have  noth- 
ing to  say  to  him,  having,  as  I  suspect,  no  goo  for  a  min- 
ister meddling  in  the  bickerings  of  men. 

So  he  returned  and  asked  Cassillis  for  one  to  take  him 
to  Kerse. 

"  Go,  Launcelot,"  said  the  Earl,  "  and  guide  him.  We 
will  manage  somehow  to  keep  the  battle  uj)  among  us 
till  you  return." 

So,  nothing  loath  to  get  away  from  gruntling  horror 
on  the  knowe  top,  I  set  Dom  Nicholas's  breast  to  the 
river,  and  Avas  beside  the  minister  in  a  trice. 

As  I  passed  up  the  waterside  I  came  quite  near  to 


THE    FLITTING    OF   THE    SOW  99 

David  Crauford  the  younger.  lie  stelled  up  the  cock  of 
his  pistol  to  shoot  at  me,  but  I  held  up  my  hand, 

"I  am  going  to  the  Kerse  to  see  your  father.  Have 
you  any  word  ?"  I  cried  to  him. 

For  in  these  quaint  times  the  friendliness  and  com- 
plaisance with  which  killing  was  done  will  scarce  he 
believed — often  with  a  jest,  and,  as  one  might  say,  ami- 
cably. 

"  To  see  my  father  ?"  cried  David  across  the  water. 
"  Yell  find  him  bird-alone.  Then  tell  him  that  we'll  flit 
the  Cassillis  sow  or  it  be  dark  yet." 

He  turned  again  to  where  his  brothers  Avere  standing 
in  council,  looking  often  south  and  north,  as  though 
they  expected  some  reinforcement.  Then  something 
came  into  his  mind. 

"  Gangs  the  minister  to  Kerse  wi'  you  ?"  he  cried  down 
the  wind.     I  told  him  ay. 

"Then,"  said  he,  laughing,  ''he  is  likely  to  hear  my 
father  at  his  devotions." 

I  had  at  that  time  no  inkling  of  David  Crauford's 
meaning,  but  before  all  was  done  I  learned. 

So  Maister  Robert  Bruce  and  I  rode  daintily  and  can- 
nily  along  the  riverside  till  we  came  to  the  ford  of  the 
mill  which  is  beneath  the  house  of  Kerse.  As  we  rode 
our  horses  through  the  water  and  slowly  up  the  bank, 
and  even  as  we  set  our  heads  over  the  edge,  we  heard 
the  loud  and  wrathful  crying  of  a  voice  that  shook  the 
air.  It  sounded  just  as  when,  straying  by  quiet  wood- 
land ways,  one  turns  the  corner  of  a  clilf  and  comes  sud- 
denly upon  the  sea  edge,  and  lo  !  the  roar  and  brattle  of 
the  waves  on  the  long  beaches. 

As  we  neared  the  house  of  Kerse  we  noted  that  the 
words  rose  and  fell,  swaying  like  the  voice  of  a  preacher 
who  has  repeated  the  same  prayer  times  without  num- 
ber. 

"  Did  not  the  young  man  mention  that  his  father  was 


100  THE   GKAY  MAN 

at  his  devotion  ?  Heard  ye  ever  tell  that  he  was  a 
religions  person  ?"  asked  the  minister  of  me. 

I  answered  him  no,  but  by  all  acconnts  the  contrary. 
I  told  him  that  I  had  once  been  in  the  house  of  Kerse, 
and  that  none  there  (including  myself,  I  might  have 
added  with  truth)  seemed  to  be  greatly  oppressed  with 
any  overload  of  the  Christian  virtues. 

When  we  came  near  we  were  aware  of  a  wide  and 
vacant  house,  all  the  doors  open  to  the  wall,  stables  and 
barn  alike  void  and  empty.  Not  so  much  as  a  dog  stir- 
ring. But  from  the  house  end  that  looked  down  the 
water  there  came  the  crying  of  this  great  voice  of  one 
unseen.  Midnoon  though  it  was,  and  I  with  the  most 
noted  minister  in  Scotland  by  my  side,  I  declare  that  I 
felt  eerie.  Indeed,  I  have  never  cared  for  coming  on  a 
habited  house,  when  it  stands  empty  with  all  the  furni- 
ture of  service  left  where  the  folk  laid  them  down,  and 
finding  no  one  therein.  Such  a  place  is  full  of  foot-falls 
and  whisj)ers,  and  a  kirkyard  at  midnight  is  not  more 
uncanny — at  least,  not  to  my  thought. 

"It  sounds  much  like  a  man  blaspheming  his  Maker," 
said  the  minister. 

We  rode  round  an  angle  of  the  wall  where  there  was 
a  flanking  tower ;  and  there,  straight  before  us,  sitting 
on  a  high  oaken  chair  under  a  green  tree,  was  old  David 
Crauford  of  Kerse,  his  head  thrown  forward,  his  hands 
clinched,  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  over 
which  his  sons  had  gone — while  from  his  mouth  there 
came  an  astounding  stream  of  oaths  and  cursings,  of 
which,  so  far  as  one  could  grasp  it,  the  main  purpose 
seemed  to  be  the  sending  of  every  Kennedy  that  ever 
drew  the  breath  of  life  directly  and  eternally  to  the 
abodes  of  the  damned. 

We  dismounted  leisurely  from  our  horses,  and  reined 
them  loosely  to  the  rings  in  the  louping-on  stone  at  the 
house   end.      Then  Maister  Bruce  strode  forward  and 


THE   FLITTING    OF   THE   SOW  101 

stood  in  front  of  the  old  man,  who  had  never  for  a 
moment  noticed  us  nor  ceased  from  his  earth -sliaking 
cursings. 

Not  until  the  tall  and  dark  figure  of  the  minister  had 
blotted  out  the  point  of  the  hill  towards  which  he  looked 
did  the  old  man  intermit  his  speech.  Then  he  drew  his 
hand  slowly  across  his  brow,  and  threw  his  head  back  as 
if  to  distinguish  whether  it  were  indeed  a  living  man 
who  stood  before  him. 

"  I  am  Kobert  Bruce,  Minister  of  the  Town  of  Edin- 
burgh," said  my  companion,  "  and  I  come  from  His 
Majesty  the  King  of  Scotland,  to  bid  you  make  an  end 
of  this  evil  and  universal  regardlessness,  which  has  pol- 
luted the  whole  country  with  cruelty  and  dissension, 
with  public  factions  and  private  deadly  feuds — " 

Old  David  Crauford  leaned  forward  in  his  chair  and 
set  his  hand  to  his  ear,  as  though  he  had  not  heard  a 
word  of  the  minister's  speech. 

"  What  say  ye,  man  ?"  he  cried,  testily,  like  one  who 
is  stayed  from  his  purpose  by  childish  pranks. 

''I  say,"  said  the  minister,  stoutly,  ''that  the  dis- 
quieting of  the  lieges  with  jacks,  breast  -  plates,  plate- 
sleeves,  and  pistols  is  as  much  dishonoring  to  God  as  it 
is  distasteful  to  His  Majesty  the  King—" 

"  Hear  ye  me,  my  man.  Hae  ye  done  ?"  said  old  David, 
glowering  at  him. 

"Are  you  a  Christian  man  ?"  said  the  minister,  stern- 
ly, "or,"  he  added,  as  if  on  second  thoughts,  "a  loyal 
subject  of  King  James  the  Sixth  ?" 

"  Christian  !"  cried  the  old  man,  with  great  indigna- 
tion. "  Do  you  speer  me  gin  I  am  a  Christian  ?  Man, 
do  ye  no  ken  that  I  am  an  Ayrshireman  ?  An'  as  for  a 
loyal  subject  of  King  Jamie,  man,  I  hae  been  fourscore 
year  and  ten  in  the  world,  and  proud  am  I  to  say  that 
threescore  and  sax  o'  them  hae  been  at  the  King's  Horn 
for  rebel  and  outlaw — an'  never  a  penny  the  waur  o' 


102  THE   GRAY   MAIST 

either,  being  ever  Avilling  and  able  to  keep  my  ain  heid 
and  baud  my  ain  land  again  baith  prince  and  Provi- 
dence !" 

"  Old  man/'  said  the  minister,  sternly,  "  ken  ye  that 
ye  speak  blasphemies.  Know  ye  not  that  for  every  word 
ye  utter  God  shall  enter  into  judgment  with  you  ?" 

"  Verra  likely,"  said  David  Crauford,  dryly.  "  Stand 
oot  o'  my  licht,  man ;  I  canna  see  through  ye.  Gin  ye 
dinna,  this  pistol  will  enter  into  judgment  wi*  you." 

The  minister  stepped  aside— not,  as  I  think,  at  all  for 
fear  of  the  pistol,  but  despairing  of  reaching  the  con- 
science of  such  a  seared  and  battered  heathen. 

Then  suddenly  the  old  man  rose  from  his  seat  as  one 
that  sees  a  heavenly  vision.  His  face  appeared  trans- 
figured and  shining,  and,  with  his  white  hair  falling  on 
his  shoulders,  I  declare  he  looked  like  the  Apostle  An- 
drew in  the  Papish  window  of  the  High  Kirk  of  Edin- 
burgh. 

"I  see  him!  I  see  him  !"  he  cried.  ''He  comes  with 
the  tidings  of  battle." 

I  looked  where  he  pointed  with  his  eyes,  but  could  see 
nothing  save  a  black  dot,  which  seemed  to  rise  and  fall 
steadily.  Nevertheless,  the  old  man  spoke  the  truth. 
It  was,  indeed,  a  swift  rider  making  straight  for  the 
house  of  Kerse. 

As  the  man  came  nearer  we  saw  him  spur  his  horse  till 
it  stumbled  and  fell  at  the  park  dikes,  weary  or  wounded, 
we  could  not  tell  which.  This  roused  David  Crauford, 
and  he  shouted  to  the  man,  who  now  came  on  lamely  on 
foot. 

"  Man,  is  the  sow  flitted  ?"  he  cried. 

The  man,  peching  and  blown  with  his  haste,  could 
not  answer  till  he  came  near. 

"  Is  the  sow  flitted  ?"  again  shouted  the  old  man. 

*'0h.  Laird  Kerse,"  cried  the  messenger,  the  tears 
trickling    down    his    face,    ''pity    this    sorrowfu'   day! 


THE   FLITTING   OF  THE   SOW  103 

There  has  been  a  waesome  slaughter  o'  your  folk — ten  o' 
them  are  dead — " 

^'Is  the  sow  flitted  ?"  cried  Crauford,  louder  than  ever. 
'^  Can  you  no  answer,  yea  or  nay  ?" 

^'Oh,  Kerse,  hear  me  and  weep  ;  your  braw  and  bonny 
son  Jock,  the  flower  of  Kyle,  is  stricken  through  the 
heart,  and  lies  cauld  and  dead  on  the  ground." 

"  Scoundrel,  dolt,  yammering  calf,  answer  or  die.  Is 
the  sow  flitted  ?"  The  patriarch  stood  up  on  his  feet, 
fiercely  threatening  the  messenger  with  his  staff. 

"The  sow  is  flitted,"  cried  the  man.  That  and  no 
more. 

The  old  man  fairly  danced  in  a  whirling  triumph, 
cracking  his  fingers  in  the  air  with  joy  like  a  boy. 

"My  thumb  for  Jock  !"  cried  he,  "the  sow's  flitted  !" 

And  with  that  he  dropped  slack  and  senseless  upon 
his  great  chair. 

The  minister  took  my  arm  and  led  me  to  the  louping- 
on  stone. 

"  Come  away,"  he  said,  sadly,  "  it  is  no  use.  Ephraim 
hath  too  long  been  joined  to  his  idols.  Let  him  alone. 
It  is  as  guid  Maister  Knox  foretold.  The  Word  of  God 
is  indeed  made  of  none  effect  in  Kyle  and  Carrick." 


CHAPTER   XIII 
THE   TKYST   AT   MIDNIGHT 

From  Eobert  Harburgli  I  got  tlie  tidings  of  the  disaster 
that  had  befallen  the  Cassillis  arms  soon  after  I  had  ridden 
away  Avith  the  Minister  of  Edinburgh.  The  Craufords 
were  in  no  hurry  to  come  on,  in  spite  of  all  the  taunts  of 
the  Earl  and  the  disordered  noise  of  the  foul  beast  wliicli 
for  despite  he  had  tied  on  their  lands. 

But  they  kept  outposts  on  the  hills  about,  and  they 
looked  often  this  way  and  that  way  —  even  I  had  seen 
them.  Then  began  a  Avaving  of  flags  and  crying  of  words, 
till  once  more  their  line  settled  into  place,  and  from  the 
north  and  the  south  at  once  fresh  bands  of  horsemen 
came  riding  towards  us.  And  as  they  came  nearer  the 
Cassillis  folk  saw  that  they  from  the  north  were  led  on 
by  James  Mure  the  younger  of  Auchendrayne,  and  from 
the  south  there  came  the  band  of  outlaws  and  robbers 
that  called  Thomas  of  Drummurchie  their  captain.  On 
two  sides  these  beset  us,  with  only  the  river  between,  and 
the  Craufords  began  to  gather  more  closely  than  ever  on 
our  front. 

Then  the  Earl  remembered  that  what  Dom  Nicholas 
and  I  had  done  so  easily  in  the  crossing  of  the  Doon 
other  men  as  determined  might  also  do.  But  being,  as 
I  have  said,  by  nature  a  brave  man,  he  first  awaited  the 
event.  Nor  was  it  long  before,  at  a  given  signal,  Drum- 
murchie and  young  Auchendrayne  set  their  horses  to  the 
water  and  came  at  us  through  the  bends  of  the  river,  in 
spite  of  the  shots  that  rained  upon  them,  and  the  men 


THE   TRYST    AT    MIDNIGHT  105 

that  dropped  from  their  seats  and  spun  down  the  flooded 
Doon.  For  it  was  soon  after  the  time  of  the  Lammas 
floods,  and  the  water  was  yet  drumlie  and  wan. 

In  our  front  the  Craufords  raged,  and  altogether  in  a 
trice  our  position  was  wholly  turned. 

"  This  is  not  well  done,"  cried  our  Earl  to  Thomas 
of  Drummurchie,  as  he  laid  stoutly  about  him.  "  Thy 
brother  had  not  so  have  treated  his  chief  when  he 
strove  Avith  the  enemies  of  the  clan.  Wolf  should  not 
tear  wolf,  nor  Kennedy  Kennedy  !'' 

In  a  little  it  was  seen  that  the  promontory  could  not 
be  kept  in  face  of  a  force  three  times  our  number,  and 
specially  when  those  of  our  own  name  and  ancient  al- 
liance were  striving  against  us. 

"Out  of  the  neck  of  the  bottle,  and  keep  together  !" 
cried  the  Earl,  who  on  stricken  field  was  no  shave- 
ling. 

So  with  that  Earl  John  led  his  people  straight  across 
the  water  at  the  point  of  the  land  that  jutted  between 
the  forces  of  Auchendrayne  that  came  from  the  north 
and  Drummurchie's  desperate  riders  who  beset  us  on  the 
south.  So  swiftly  was  this  done  that  before  they  could 
close  or  the  Craufords  come  on,  most  part  of  the  Cassillis 
folk  had  passed  Doon  water.  Though  there  were  twenty 
at  the  least  who  were  either  drowned  or  else  wounded  to 
death,  where  they  had  fought  the  wager  out  on  the  fair 
holms  of  Dalrymple. 

It  so  befell  as  the  minister  and  I  were  riding  home  that 
we  came  on  our  little  company  of  Culzean  lads  riding 
Avith  tired  horses  and  slack  reins  shorewards.  And,  God 
be  thanked  for  His  ill-deserved  mercy,  in  the  quarrel 
that  had  been  so  evilly  settled  there  was  no  loss  to  Cul- 
zean. For  we  came  not  home  with  a  single  empty  saddle, 
nor  was  there  so  much  as  a  pikestaff  left  behind.  The 
last  of  it  that  they  heard  was  the  shouts  of  the  Craufords 
as  they  flitted  the  sow  over  the  water  to  the  lands  of  Ken- 


106  THE    GRAY    MAN" 

nedy,  thus  clearing  their  own  borders  ere  set  of  sun,  ac- 
cording to  their  boast  and  promise. 

On  the  morrow's  morn  there  came  to  each  Kennedy's 
gate  a  little  squealing  pigling  with  the  Cassillis  colors  of 
blue  and  gold  tied  in  derision  to  its  curled  tail.  And 
round  its  neck  was  this  motto  :  "The  flitted  sow  of  Cas- 
sillis hath  pigged,  and  Crauford  of  Kerse  sends  the  litter 
home  !" 

And  so  in  like  manner  was  done  at  the  house  of  every 
Kennedy  that  had  men  at  the  fight  of  the  sow-flitting, 
whether  they  lived  near  or  far.  But  who  left  them  at  the 
yetts  none  saw.  All  which  was  more  likely  to  be  a  jiloy 
of  Thomas  of  Drummurchie  or  John  Mure's  than  of  the 
Craufords — who,  to  do  them  justice,  had  small  skill  in 
aught  save  hard  strokes,  but  plenty  of  that.  For  even  to 
this  day  there  is  small  civility  or  scholarship  about  Kyle 
Stewart  and  King's  Kyle. 

Now  there  was  no  mistaking  but  that  we  came  home 
with  our  fingers  in  our  mouths,  and  the  countryside  jeers 
at  us  of  Cassillis  and  Culzean  Avere  many  as  the  leaves  of 
the  summer  trees.  Nor  could  I  win  belief  that  I  had 
been,  by  command  of  the  Earl,  at  the  house  of  Kerse  along 
with  the  minister,  instead  of  on  the  green  inch  of  Dal- 
rymple  by  Skeldon  haughs.  For,  believe  it  who  will, 
there  are  many  right  willing  to  have  a  catch  at  me ; 
though,  God  knows,  I  had  never  gone  out  of  my  way  to 
put  a  slight  upon  any  man,  nor  yet  thought  more  highly 
of  myself  than  I  ought  to  think. 

In  time,  however,  the  bitterness  died  down,  and  at  Cul- 
zean things  went  their  wonted  quiet  way.  It  is  true  that 
Nell  Kennedy  never  so  much  as  looked  the  way  I  was  on. 
I  heard  that  she  went  about  telling  every  one  whom  she 
thought  would  carry  the  tale  to  me  that  I  had  gotten  the 
Earl's  sword  for  procuring  the  sow  of  Skeldon,  and  car- 
rying her  over  Doon  water  on  my  back.  But  this  was  no 
more  than  spite  easily  seen  through,  and  I  minded  it  not. 


THE   TRYST    AT   MIDNIGHT  107 

For  every  one  in  Carrick  knew  the  cause  why  I  had  gotten 
the  bkide  from  the  Earl,  who,  indeed,  is  not  a  man  to  give 
aught  for  naught,  nor  yet  to  bestow  where,  with  honor, 
he  might  withhold. 

But,  to  bakmce  the  beam,  Marjorio  was  kinder  to  me 
than  ever  she  had  been,  so  that  I  thought  of  a  surety  that 
her  heart  had  at  last  been  touched  by  love.  But,  as  it 
chanced,  I  was  to  get  news  of  that  before  I  was  greatly 
older. 

As  the  thing  fell  out,  one  night  I  had  been  somewhat 
late  out  of  bed,  visiting  of  a  friend,  whose  name  it  does 
not  advantage  to  set  down  here.  And  in  the  morning, 
while  yet  it  was  dark,  I  was  returning  by  the  rough  shore 
tracks  to  the  coves,  from  whence  I  had  to  clamber  warily 
up,  in  order  to  reach  my  ladder  of  roj^e,  which  depended, 
as  of  old,  from  the  overhanging  turret  of  the  White  Tower, 

As  I  stood  to  breathe  a  while  in  the  quiet  of  the  cove, 
I  was  aware  of  voices  that  spoke  above  me,  for  the  sea  was 
quiet  and  the  moon  dipping  down  to  the  setting.  My 
thoughts  were  running  at  the  time  on  treasure-seeking, 
for  among  the  things  I  had  had  on  my  mind  that  night 
there  was  the  matter  of  the  losing  of  the  Kelwood  treasure 
in  the  House  of  the  Red  Moss.  Thinking  that  I  might 
learn  something  of  importance,  I  hasted  to  clamber  in  the 
direction  from  which  came  the  voices.  And  as  I  glided 
along  the  foot  of  the  rocks  in  the  black  shadow  I  came  al- 
most without  warning  upon  two  who  stood  close  together. 

I  could  not  go  back.  I  could  not  go  forward.  I  could 
only  retreat  sideways  as  far  as  the  rock  would  let  me,  and 
even  then  I  stood  within  a  few  feet  of  the  speakers. 

At  the  first  words  I  knew  them.  It  was  Marjorie 
Kennedy  of  Culzean  talking  with  Grilbert  of  Bargany,  the 
enemy  of  her  house  and  of  us  all.  The  blood  settled 
sharply  chill  about  my  heart,  and  the -bitterness  of  death 
seemed  to  come  upon  me.  The  maid  to  whom  my  heart 
had  gone  out,  to  whom  I  had  looked  up  as  my  liege  lady. 


108  THE   GRAY    MAN 

was  standing  here  in  midnight  converse  with  the  sworn 
enemy  of  her  race  and  of  her  father. 

But  I  had  no  time  for  consideration — none  for  deciding 
what  I  should  do.  I  was  no  eavesdropper^  yet  for  my  life 
I  could  not  go  forth  and  confront  them. 

I  could  hear  Gilbert  Kennedy's  words.  They  were 
pleading  and  passionate  words. 

"'Hear  me,  listen  to  me,  Marjorie !"  he  said,  and  I  could 
see  his  uncovered  head  turned  towards  her  where  she 
stood  black  between  me  and  the  sea.  "  I  love  no  one  but 
you.  I  have  sought  none  but  you.  Ever  since  I  was  a 
stripling  lad,  like  your  young  Launcelot  Kennedy,  have 
not  I  given  you  worshiji  and  service  ?  Why,  then,  do  you 
hate  me,  desj)ise  me,  turn  away  from  me  ?" 

As  I  listened  my  heart  rose  again  in  hope.  ''Your 
Launcelot  Kennedy,"  he  had  said.  It  might  be  that  I, 
even  I,  was  the  cause  why  Marjorie  turned  from  him,  as 
he  said. 

"  Gilbert,"  said  Marjorie  Kennedy,  and  her  voice  was 
like  the  still  waters  of  a  sheltered  sea  lapping  on  the  wet 
sands,  "  I  do  not  turn  from  you.  I  am  not  proud  with 
you.  If  I  were,  would  I  be  here  to-night  ?  But  in  spite 
of  this  I  am  trysted  to  another  fate.  If  there  is  to  be  any 
use  in  my  life,  it  is  that  I  may  become  the  sacrifice  that 
is  to  compose  this  quarrel.  And  it  cannot  be  with  you 
for  husband." 

"  And  wherefore  not  ?"  said  Bargany,  fiercely,  striking 
one  hand  into  the  hollow  palm  of  the  other. 

Marjorie  put  out  one  of  her  own  hands  as  if  to  restrain 
him. 

"  I  will  put  you  to  the  test,"  said  she  ;  "  if  I  were  Lady 
Bargany,  would  you  submit  to  John,  Earl  of  Cassillis, 
and  be  his  man,  setting  aside  all  your  ancient  quarrels, 
and  acknowledging  him  as  your  liege  lord  ?" 

"God  forbid  !"  said  Bargany,  promptly. 

Marjorie  put  out  her  other  hand  for  him  to  take. 


THE   TRYST   AT   MIDNIGHT  109 

"  And  I  like  you  the  better  for  it,  Gilbert,"  she  said, 
impulsively. 

Bargany  set  her  fingers  to  his  lips,  and  held  her  hands 
as  if  he  could  never  let  them  go. 

"Then,"  said  she,  ''since  this  bitter  strife  and  the 
killing  of  friends  must  somehow  be  stopped,  and  since 
you  would  not  stoj)  it  even  for  me,  who  am  I  that  I 
should  not  be  at  my  father's  command,  to  give  and  to 
take,  to  be  sold  and  bought  like  a  beast  in  the  market- 
place ?" 

"Who  talks  of  buying  and  selling  ?"  interrupted  Bar- 
gany, roughly.  "  Give  me  but  a  look  of  your  eyes,  and 
I  will  carry  you  to  my  house  of  Bargany,  and  see  if  any 
dare  to  take  you  from  the  safe  keeping  of  Gilbert  Ken- 
nedy." 

"And  my  father  ?"  said  she,  speaking  very  quietly 
but  clearly,  so  that  I  heard  every  word. 

"  Your  father,"  answered  Bargany,  "  is  a  good  man — 
too  good  for  such  a  crew.  He  has  married  one  daughter 
to  the  young  Sheriff  of  Galloway.  Wherefore  not  another 
to  his  cousin  of  Bargany  ?  Is  not  Kennedy  of  Bargany, 
even  though  he  be  an  enemy,  better  than  any  noltish 
Galloway  laird  ?" 

"Ah,"  said  Marjorie  Kennedy,  softly,  "but  therje  is 
another  reason — " 

"Tell  it  me  and  I  will  answer  it,"  said  Bargany,  with 
a  swift  fierceness,  for  I  think  he  imagined  that  he  was 
making  head  against  her  scrujDles.  But  I  had  heard  her 
speak  in  that  still  way  before,  and  could  have  told  him 
different. 

"  Isobel  Stewart,  bower-maiden  to  the  Queen,  and  the 
Earldom  of  Carrick — they  are  surely  reasons  enough  !" 
said  Marjorie  Kennedy. 

Bargany  started  as  though  an  adder  had  stung  him. 
For  a  moment  he  seemed  bereft  of  speech. 

"  Who  has  been  lying  to  you  of  me  ?"  he  said,  almost 


110  THE    GKAY   MAN 

under  his  breath,  as  though  the  night  air  had  suddenly 
made  him  hoarse. 

"Nay,  think  again,"  said  Marjorie  ;  "is  it  not  true  ? 
Better  a  soiled  bower-maiden  of  the  King's  court  and  an 
earldom  with  her,  than  poor  Marjorie  Kennedy  of  Culzean 
in  her  smock  !" 

I  never  heard  her  say  a  spiteful  thing  before  nor  since 
— but  when  it  comes  to  the  matter  of  the  Other  Woman, 
all  women  are  alike. 

Bargany  stamped  his  foot  in  very  anger. 

"A  fig  for  dignities,  and  a  rotten  fig  for  Isobel 
Stewart  V  he  cried.  "  I  love  but  you,  Marjorie  Kennedy  ! 
Will  you  come  to  me,  so  that  you  and  I  may  face  the 
Avorld  together  ?  For  it  is  a  black  world,  and  needs  two 
hearts  that  can  stand  by  each  other." 

Then  betwixt  me  and  the  sea  (as  I  have  said)  I  saw 
Marjorie  knitting  and  clasping  her  hands  as  if  her  spirit 
were  wrestling  within  her. 

"  Yea,  Gilbert,"  she  said,  very  gently  at  last,  "  it  is,  as 
you  say,  a  black,  black  world.  But  neither  you  nor  I  are 
going  to  better  it  by  the  breaking  of  trysts  and  engage- 
ments !" 

"And  what  tryst  have  you  ?"  he  demanded,  sullenly. 

"  I  am  trysted  to  sorrow,"  she  answered — "  trysted  for- 
ever to  want  that  which  most  I  desire,  and  to  have  that 
which  most  I  hate.  Gilbert  Kennedy,  take  my  hand  this 
once  and  hearken.  You  and  I  are  too  greatly  like  one 
another  to  be  happy  together.  We  are  not  mates  born 
for  smooth  things.  Sorrow  is  our  dower  and  suffering 
_our  weird,  and  the  pity  of  it  is  that  we  must  dree  it  apart. 
I  think  we  are  both  'fey'  to-night,"  she  said,  breaking  off 
with  a  change  of  tone.    "  We  had  best  go  within." 

"  Within  ?"  said  Bargany,  scornfully,  for  he  bethought 
him  that  he  could  never  enter  the  house  of  Culzean  as  a 
friend. 

"  Now,  Gilbert,"  said  Marjorie,  "  be  a  man  and  for- 


.-TT-^-i^-CX-^^ 


^-r«-.  «-^5M»      ->    v-ik-i,,^*)^  Aft 


BARGANY  SET  HER  FINGERS  TO  HIS   LIPS 


THE   TRYST   AT   MIDNIGHT  111 

give.  Be  a  man  also  to  Isobel  Stewart,  that  she  may 
know  you  a  truer  man  than  she  has  ever  met  in  kings' 
courts — ay,  truer  and  nobler,  as  I  think  you,  than  the 
King  himself.  And  let  me  go  my  way.  ..."  She  covered 
her  face  with  her  hands,  and  stood  a  space  silent  and 
bowed.  "  Let  me  go  my  way  \"  she  said  again.  And  so 
would  have  gone  from  him. 

But  Gilbert  Kennedy  had  her  in  his  two  arms  and  was 
kissing  her  mouth,  and  that  often  and  passionately. 

''No,"  he  said,  "I  will  not  let  you  go.  I  will  take 
you  in  spite  of  all — though  there  were  at  Culzean  a  thou- 
sand fathers — at  Cassillis  a  thousand  earls  !" 

She  withdrew  herself  from  him  with  quiet  dignity,  yet 
without  anger. 

"But  you  will  not  take  me  in  spite  of  one  Marjorie 
Kennedy,"  she  said. 

Then  at  this,  quick  as  a  musket  flash,  Bargany  turned 
on  his  heel  and  tramped  angrily  down  the  shingle  of  the 
shore,  his  sword  clanking  and  his  spurs  ringing,  as  care- 
less who  might  hear  as  if  he  had  been  crossing  the  paved 
court  of  his  own  house  of  Bargany. 

And  Marjorie  Kennedy  stood  still  and  watched  him  go, 
her  hands  pressed  to  her  bosom,  as  though  it  needed  both 
to  still  the  dreadful  beating  of  her  heart. 

"I  love  him  !  I  love  him  !"  she  cried  to  the  stillness, 
when  he  was  quite  gone.  "  Oh,  that  he  might  trample 
me,  that  his  hand  might  slay  me,  so  that  in  death  he 
might  lift  up  my  head  and  say  once  again,  'I  love 
you!'" 

And  so  she  also  passed  away  within. 
Then  I,  in  my  corner,  where  I  had  been  an  unwilling 
hearkener,  set  my  face  between  my  knees  and  thought 
that  the  world  would  never  be  bright  again.  For  I  had 
heard  that  which  I  had  heard,  and  I  knew  now  that  Mar- 
jorie— my  Lady  Marjorie — would  never  know  love  for 
me  while  the  world  lasted. 


112  THE    GRAY    MAN" 

Nevertheless,  I  rose  up  and  clambered  aloft  to  reach 
my  roije-ladder.  I  climbed  over  the  rocks,  thoughtless- 
ly, heedlessly,  and  I  scraped  my  shoe  so  that  it  sounded 
loud  in  the  still  night.  Suddenly  I  saw  something  bright 
above  me,  the  flicker  of  a  white  robe.  I  had  nearly  fall- 
en, thinking  that  the  appearance  might  be  a  spirit  of  the 
darkness. 

"  Dinna  be  feared,  night-raker,"  said  a  voice  I  knew 
well;  "it  is  only  Nell  Kennedy.  Think  ye  that  none 
can  climb  up  the  White  Tower  besides  yourself  ?" 

I  was  so  greatly  astonished  that  I  could  not  speak  at 
once. 

"What  may  you  be  doing  there  at  this  time  of  the 
morning,  Nell  ?"  I  said,  at  last. 

"  Just  like  yourself — trying  to  find  a  quiet  way  to  my 
bed/'  said  she  ;  "but  I  must  hasten,  or  I  shall  be  late  to 
let  in  Marjorie."' 

"  AVhat  Marjorie  ?"  said  I,  pretending  that  I  knew  noth- 
ing of  the  matter. 

"Lie  to  other  folk  gin  ye  like,  Spurhcel,"  said  the 
madcap,  contemptuously,  "but  dinna  think  ye  can  lie  to 
Nell  Kennedy.  I  saw  ye  come  from  the  hole  down  by 
the  Cove." 

"But  what  do  you  here,  Nell?"  said  I,  for  it  might 
be  that  the  mad  lassie  had  a  lad,  and  it  seemed  a  terrible 
thing  that  she 'should  be  so  misguided  at  her  age  as  to 
meet  him  alone  by  night. 

"Maybe  I  was  down  by  seeing  Kate  Allison,  the 
Grieve's  lassie,"  said  she.  "  Do  you  honestly  think, 
Spurheel,  that  Helen  Kennedy  would  permit  a  sister 
of  hers  to  gang  jooking  here  and  there  about  the  shore 
wi'  a  bonny  young  man  at  the  dead  of  niclit  all  by  her 
lone  ?    It  is  not  very  likely." 

I  said  no  more.  It  was  not  easy  to  argle-bargle  with 
Nell  Kennedy. 

"  And  now  betake  yourself  up  the  rope  to  your  garret," 


THE   TRYST   AT   MIDNIGHT  113 

she  said,  "  and  I  will  follow  after,  for  I  must  let  our 
Maidie  in  by  the  east  door  or  it  grows  light." 

I  motioned  her  to  go  first,  but  she  turned  on  me  in 
great  indignation. 

"Hear  ye,  Spurheel — up  Avi'  ye  !  And  if  ye  so  much 
as  set  your  nose  oot  o'  your  window  when  I  am  on  the 
rope  it  will  no  be  telling  you  !" 

So  I  climbed  up  and  shut  to  the  window,  and  long  be- 
fore I  was  settled  in  bed  I  heard  the  two  sisters  talking 
softly  together  in  the  room  beneath.  So  I  knew  that 
Nell  Kennedy  had  carried  out  her  mad  ploy. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE    ADVENTUKE    OF   THE    GARDEN 

I  NEED  not  tell  all  the  reasons  why  my  well-beloved 
and  kindly  master.  Sir  Thomas  Kennedy,  had  grown  to 
be  hated  with  a  deadly  feud  by  all  the  ill-conditioned  of 
the  Bargany  faction,  saving  indeed  by  Gilbert  Kennedy 
of  Bargany  himself.  For  one  thing,  my  master  was  the 
man  of  the  best  and  wisest  counsels  among  all  the  sup- 
porters of  Cassillis.  He  had  many  virtues,  being  well- 
liked  wherever  he  went  for  kindliness  and  courteousness. 
Also  he  was  a  man  of  good  principles  and  religion,  so 
far  as  the  times  permitted,  and  indeed  somewhat  be- 
yond, as  he  found  to  his  own  bitter  cost  or  all  was  done. 

Still  more,  my  master  Culzeau  was  never  one  to  sus- 
jject  evil  of  any  man,  and  was  ever  prone  to  cover  wrack 
and  ruin  by  over-trust  and  graciousness. 

The  first  act  of  a  great  and  wide  conspiracy  to  com- 
pass his  death  was  now  to  be  played,  for  Thomas  of 
Drummurchie,  the  brother  of  young  Bargany,  was  not 
of  so  lofty  a  spirit  as  his  chief.  Indeed,  to  sioeak  plain- 
ly, he  was  no  better  than  an  assassin  and  a  common 
bully.  He  caused  all  the  countryside  to  lie  in  terror 
for  fear  of  him,  being  great  with  none,  save  only  with 
the  Lairds  of  Auchendrayne — which  was  a  strange  thing 
considering  their  outward  profession  of  strict  honor. 

It  happened  that  there  was  a  worthy  knight,  an  in- 
dweller  in  the  town  of  Maybole,  Sir  Thomas  Nisbett  by 
name,  who  was  a  crony  of  my  master  Culzean.  ISTow,  it 
was  the  practice  for  the  gentry  of  the  neighborhood  dur- 


THE  ADVENTURE  OF  THE  GARDEN        115 

ing  the  winter  to  enter  in  and  dwell  within  the  town  of 
Maybole  in  many  pretty  and  well-built  houses  of  free- 
stone, diverting  themselves  during  the  dead  time  of 
the  year  with  converse  together  in  each  other's  houses. 
These  stand  for  the  most  part  in  the  chief  street  of 
Maybole,  and  have  fine  gardens  attached  to  them.  Of 
them  all,  that  of  the  Earl  of  Cassillis  is  the  largest,  but 
the  one  belonging  to  my  master  Culzean  is  but  little  be- 
hind it  in  beauty  and  convenience. 

But  Sir  Thomas  Kennedy  bode  little  about  his  house 
in  Maybole,  chiefly  because  his  lads  and  lasses  loved 
most  to  remain  at  Culzean,  where  the  cliffs  are  and  the 
sea  spreads  wide,  clattering  pleasantly  on  the  rocks,  and 
with  the  birds  blithely  swirling  and  diving  about  it  all 
the  year  round.  And  of  this  I  also  was  glad,  for  to  live 
in  a  town  is  a  thing  I  cannot  abide  for  any  long  time, 
being  bred  to  the  life  of  the  hills  and  to  the  wind  in  ray 
face. 

Now  on  this  New  -  year's  day  it  so  happened  that 
this  Sir  Thomas  Nisbett  had  invited  my  master,  being, 
as  I  say,  a  crony  of  his  own,  and  of  an  age  with  him,  to 
sit  down  at  supper  in  his  house  in  Maybole.  So  Culzean 
took  horse  and  a  small  attendance,  of  whom  I  was  the 
chief,  and  rode  over  to  bide  the  night  in  Maybole  town, 
meaning  to  lodge  in  his  own  house,  and  in  the  morning 
return  to  his  castle  of  Culzean. 

My  master  was  a  mightily  curious  man  in  one  particu- 
lar. He  could  not  abide  any  repair  of  people  coming 
and  going  with  him  on  his  journeyings.  And  if  in  a 
quieter  time  he  had  gotten  his  will,  he  would  have  rid- 
den here  and  there  without  any  attendance  whatever — 
so  kindly  and  unsuspicious  of  evil  was  his  nature.  On 
the  New-year  night  he  had  bidden  me  to  remain  within- 
doors, because,  as  he  said,  he  knew  his  way  home  full 
well  from  Sir  Thomas  Nisbett's  house.  Also,  I  suspect, 
he  wished  me  not  to  observe  whether  he  retained  his 


116  THE   GRAY    MAN 

usual  walk  and  conversation,  after  seeing  the  New-year 
in  witli  the  Provost  and  the  other  Sir  Thomas,  for  the 
custom  of  Mayhole  was  exceedingly  hospitable. 

New-year's  day  had  been  dark  and  gloomy.  The 
promise  of  oncoming  foul  weather  was  in  the  feel  of  the 
raw,  drooky  air.  No  sooner  was  it  dark  than  a  smurr  of 
rain  began  to  fall,  very  wetting  and  thick,  so  that  even 
with  torches  it  had  been  impossible  to  see  many  paces. 
We  reached  our  lodging  at  the  town -house  of  Culzean 
before  the  night  had  set  in,  and  as  the  supper  was  at  six 
of  the  clock,  it  was  no  long  time  before  my  master  took 
his  way  to  Sir  Thomas  Nisbett's  house.  He  left  me 
seated  by  the  fire  with  a  book  of  chronicles  of  the  wars 
to  read.  As  soon,  however,  as  he  had  issued  forth  upon 
the  street  I  took  my  bare  sword  in  my  hand,  and  by 
another  door  I  sallied  forth  also.  For  in  such  a  town  as 
Maybole  there  are  always  ill-set  folk  that  would  gladly 
do  an  injury  to  a  well-kenned  and  Avell-respected  man 
like  my  master.  And  much  more  now  when  the  feud 
had  waxed  so  hot  and  high. 

But  it  chanced  that  Sir  Thomas,  so  soon  almost  as  he 
set  foot  over  the  door-step,  greeted  his  fellow-guest,  the 
Provost  of  the  town — who,  as  became  his  office,  had  with 
him  one  to  hold  the  tail  of  his  furred  gown  out  of  the 
clarty  mud,  and  also  a  lad  with  a  torch  running  before 
him.  Nevertheless,  I  followed  on  in  that  darker  dusk 
which  succeeds  the  glare  of  a  torch.  On  our  way  we 
had  to  pass  through  the  garden  behind  the  house  of  Sir 
Thomas  Nisbett,  which  was  full  of  groset  bushes,  divided 
by  high  hedges  of  yew  and  box.  I  came  softly  after 
them,  and  abode  still  by  the  gate  when  the  Provost  and 
his  train  had  passed  through  with  our  good  knight  in 
their  midst.  The  pair  of  them  were  talking  jovially 
together  as  they  went,  like  men  with  toom  kytes  that 
know  they  are  going  in  to  be  filled  with  good  cheer. 

"  I  declare  I  am  as  hungry  as    a  moudiewort  in  a 


THE  ADVENTURE  OF  THE  GARDEN        117 

black  frost,"  said  the  douce  Provost.  ''I  haena  seen 
meat  the  day.  What  wi'  hearkening  to  auld  wives  de- 
nouncing ane  anither  for  kenned  and  notour  witches,  and 
sending  men  of  the  tribes  of  little  Egypt  to  the  Tol- 
booth,  my  life  has  no  been  my  ain," 

My  master  laughed  loudly  and  heartsomely. 

"It  is  weel  to  be  hungry  and  ken  o'  meat,"  he  replied, 
in  the  words  of  the  well-kenned  proverb. 

And  the  pair  of  them  laughed  with  their  noses  in  the 
air,  easily  mirthful,  like  men  that  strengthen  themselves 
with  the  comfortable  smell  of  dinner  blown  through  an 
open  door. 

But  I  question  much  whether  they  had  laughed  so 
heartily  if  they  had  seen  what  I  saw  at  that  moment. 
And  that  was  a  face  looking  over  the  height  of  the  yew 
hedge — a  face  wrapped  about  the  mouth  with  a  gray 
plaid  and  with  a  gray  brimmed  hat  pulled  close  down 
over  the  eyes.  As  the  flickering  of  the  torch  died  out 
at  the  entering  in  of  the  house  door,  I  saw  the  man  raise 
his  hand  in  a  warning  and  forbidding  gesture,  as  though 
he  made  a  signal  to  men  who  could  see  him,  but  who 
were  hidden  from  my  sight. 

This  was  enough  for  me.  I  resolved  that  those  who 
plotted  evil  behind  backs  should  have  to  war  with  Launce 
Kennedy,  who,  at  least,  was  no  mean  foe,  and  one  not 
given  to  wearing  his  eyes  under  his  coat. 

Not  for  a  moment  after  this  could  I  leave  the  garden, 
for  one  of  the  villains  might  have  gone  to  the  window 
and  shot  at  my  master  through  the  glass — as  one  had 
done  years  before  to  good  Maister  John  Knox  (who,  as  I 
have  heard  tell,  reformed  religion  in  this  land)  on  an 
evening  he  sat  quietly  reading  his  book  and  drinking  of 
his  ale  in  his  own  house  in  the  High  Street  of  Edinburgh. 

So  I  got  me  into  an  angle  of  the  garden  and  climbed  a 
wall,  which,  being  grown  with  ivy,  was  a  good  and  safe 
post  of  vantage.      From  thence  I  could  overlook  the 


118  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

whole  enclosure.  After  a  little  my  eyes  became  better 
accustomed  to  the  darkness.  The  lights  from  the  win- 
dows also  made  a  faint  glimmering  athwart  the  hedges, 
and  I  could  distinctly  see  men  darning  themselves  into 
their  hiding-places  and  getting  ready  their  pistols  and 
hackbutts. 

Even  as  I  sat  there  on  the  wall  and  froze,  a  plan  came 
into  my  head  which  sent  the  blood  surging  through  my 
veins  like  the  tide  scouring  the  gut  of  Solway.  I  re- 
membered that  Sir  Thomas  Kennedy  was  at  no  time  very 
active  on  his  legs,  and  what  with  the  income  in  his  knee 
and  the  good  wine  under  his  belt,  he  would  assuredly  be 
in  no  key  for  running  when  he  issued  forth. 

Also,  they  were  certainly  many  who  lay  in  wait  for  him. 
I  counted  at  least  five  moving  about  in  the  faint  light. 
So  I  mounted  the  top  of  the  ivied  wall,  and  slid  down  the 
outside,  landing  heavily  on  my  hinderlands  in  a  ditch.  I 
stole  round  to  the  gable  door  of  Nisbett's  house,  and  told 
the  man-servant  that  I  had  come  to  see  my  master,  where- 
upon they  permitted  me  to  go  up  to  the  room  on  the  first 
story,  where  the  guests  were  already  set  down  at  the 
banquet.  I  knew  well  that  it  was  no  use  speaking  to  my 
lord,  but  I  did  venture  to  call  out  the  host.  Sir  Thomas 
Nisbett,  whose  head  was  stronger  and  whose  heart  more 
readily  suspicious  than  those  of  the  Laird  of  Culzean. 

Him  I  told  how  the  matter  stood,  whereupon  he  wished 
to  speak  to  the  Provost  and  to  call  the  town  officers.  But 
I  assured  him  that  these  determined  assassins  in  the  yard 
could  render  an  account  of  the  town  guard  twice  told  over. 

"  So,"  said  I,  "  I  have  this  to  propose  to  you  in  a  word. 
When  the  time  comes  for  the  guests  to  depart,  you  will 
detain  my  master — and  the  Provost,  too,  if  you  can." 

"^Ere  I  have  done  with  them  they  will  not  move  far 
to-night,  or  my  name  is  not  Thomas  Nisbett,"  said  the 
host,  nodding  his  head,  for  these  were  the  manners  and 
hospitalities  of  the  time. 


mornmof 


THE  ADVENTUEE  OF  THE  GARDEN        119 

''And  you  will  lock  them  in  a  secure  place  till  the 
?" 

"But,"  said  Nisbett,  "will  not  the  villains  attack  my 
house  ?  If  it  be  as  you  say,  they  have  assurance  for 
everything." 

I  told  him  that  they  might  very  well  do  that,  but  that 
if  he  gave  me  a  mailed  coat  Avith  plate-sleeves,  and  also 
kneecaps  of  steel,  together  with  my  arms  and  cap,  I 
thought  I  could  make  a  race  for  it  and  carry  them  all 
off  along  with  me, 

"But,  laddie,"  he  cried,  "ye  gang  to  your  death  !" 

I  told  him  not  so,  for  that  even  when  accoutred  I  was 
a  notable  runner,  and  could  course  like  a  hare. 

"And  in  any  case,  better  Launce  Kennedy  be  dead 
than  Culzean,  or  the  Provost  and  yourself.  Sir  Thomas 
Nisbett.  What  would  happen  to  the  town  and  couutry- 
side  then  ?" 

"Ay,  better  that,"  he  said,  very  sententiously,  at  which 
I  could  scarce  forbear  but  smile,  for  the  very  simplicity 
of  the  man  was  such  that  he  not  only  counted  his  life 
worth  more  than  mine,  but  expected  me  to  do  the  same. 
However,  it  was  not  concerning  him,  but  of  my  master 
and  my  master's  children,  that  I  thought.  What  mattered 
little  to  a  Kennedy  of  Kirrieoch  mattered  greatly  to  Sir 
Thomas  Kennedy,  Tutor  of  Culzean.  Yet  I  knew  not 
that  I  had  any  great  fear  of  failure,  for  I  had  thus  far 
won  off  scot-free,  even  when  in  the  general  engagement 
our  faction  had  gotten  the  worst  of  it.  And  so  I  thought 
to  do  always. 

The  evening  wore  on  like  eternity,  and  I  had  many  a 
thought  in  my  heart,  though  but  few  of  them  were  sad 
or  waesome,  for  I  was  too  young.  Most  of  all  I  prayed 
that  I  might  bear  myself  well,  and  in  some  shape  at  least 
carry  the  matter  through  without  dishonor. 

When  the  Provost  and  my  master  had  well  drunken 
and  eaten  yet  more,  their  host  stole  away  from  them  on  a 


120  THE   GRAY   MAN^ 

pretext,  and  came  to  the  chamber  where  I  sat  in  darkness/ 
planning  how  to  make  my  way  through  the  garden.  : 

He  brought  me  presently  the  equipment  of  which  I  had 
need,  and  of  his  own  accord  added  another  pistol  of  ad- 
mirable French  workmanship.  For  France  is  ever  the 
country  for  good  ordnance  of  all  sorts — from  the  pistolet 
which  Sir  Thomas  Nisbett  gave  me  to  the  cannons  that 
dang  down  the  Castle  of  Saint  Andrews  about  the  heads 
of  Normand  Leslie  and  his  crew. 

"Gin  ye  live  ye  kin  keep  the  pistol/'  he  said,  as  one 
that  did  me  a  vast  kindness. 

Then  over  my  steel  cap  I  set  the  great  broad  hat  of 
Sir  Thomas  of  Culzean,  and  did  his  cloak  about  me. 

It  was  now  the  time  to  go,  and  I  tell  you  true  my 
heart  beat  a  pretty  tune  to  dance  to  as  I  stood  at  the  back 
of  the  door  —  with  my  host  hiding  well  in  the  rear,  lest 
they  should  nick  him  by  firing  as  the  light  within  showed 
me  plain  in  the  doorway. 

So  I  ordered  the  lamp  to  be  removed  and  the  door  to 
be  opened.  Then  my  host  bade  me  adieu  in  a  loud, 
hearty  tone,  and  said  that  he  would  come  round  and  visit 
me  in  the  morning.  It  was  with  a  bitter  sort  of  joy,  noi; 
wholly  unpleasant,  that  I  heard  the  door  clash  sharply  to 
behind  me.  I  had  my  sword  in  my  right  hand  and  my 
pistol  ready  bent  in  the  other.  And  I  bethought  me  how 
many  would  have  risked  the  same  wager  of  battle. 

There  was  a  light  flickering  souiewhere  in  the  town — 
belike  a  party  passing  homeward  with  torches  from  a 
merrymaking,  or  some  of  the  bonfires  lighted  for  the  in- 
bringing  of  the  New-year.  I  could  see  my  friend  of  the 
beckoning  hand  now  standing  erect  with  his  plaid  about 
him.  He  was  the  same  I  had  seen  at  the  burning  of  the 
Bible  when  I  was  but  a  boy  in  the  courtyard  of  Ardstin- 
char,  and,  I  doubted  not,  the  Gray  Man  of  our  later 
troubles. 

I  knew  that  the  sharpshooters  would  be  placed  in  the 


THE  ADVENTURE  OF  THE  GARDEN        121 

alleys  in  the  garden.  Indeed,  I  had  seen  them  pass  to 
their  situations,  and  observed  that  they  had  their  hack- 
butts  carefuU}^  pointed  at  the  path  along  which  I  must 
pass.  So  instead  of  walking  directly  down  the  main  road 
to  the  gate  I  made  believe  to  stumble  on  the  threshold, 
and  to  recover  myself  with  an  exclamation  of  pain,  in 
order  that  I  might  divert  them  into  waiting  till  I  should 
come  their  way.  For  I  must  perforce  pass  by  the  mouths 
of  their  muskets  so  close  that  they  could  not  miss. 

But  instead  of  taking  the  main  avenue  I  darted  side- 
ways along  the  narrower  path  which  led  round  the  gar- 
den's edge,  and  there,  cowering  in  the  angle,  I  waited 
for  what  should  happen.  In  their  hurry  and  surprise  I 
heard  one  hackbutt  go  off  with  a  crash,  aud  the  light 
from  the  touch  lit  up  the  garden.  Then  in  the  darkness 
that  followed  I  ran  farther  down  the  walk  towards  the 
outer  gate.  In  the  midst  I  came  upon  a  fellow  who 
kneeled  with  his  musket  upon  a  stick,  trained  upon  the 
middle  path  by  which  they  had  hoped  that  Culzean  would 
come.  Then  with  my  sword  I  stuck  the  hulking  villain 
through  that  part  of  him  with  which  I  came  most  readily 
in  contact.  What  that  might  be  I  declare  that  1  know 
not  until  this  day.  Only  I  judged  that  it  could  not  have 
been  a  very  mortal  one  by  the  vigor  with  which  he  cried 
out. 

Then  indeed  there  was  confusion  and  deray  to  speak 
about.  I  saw  the  form  of  the  Gray  Man,  whom  I  had 
observed  directing  the  ambush,  rise  from  the  farther 
dike-side.  He  spoke  sharply,  like  one  that  cries  orders, 
and  at  the  word  many  men  came  rushing  pell-mell  to  see 
what  was  the  cause  of  the  hideous  outcry  on  that  side 
of  the  garden  where  I  was. 

But  I  overstepped  the  carcase  of  the  rascal  into  whom 
I  had  set  my  good  blade,  and  most  circumspectly  made 
my  way  down  the  side  of  the  wall  unseen  of  any. 

But  when  I  had  advanced  as  far  as  the  way  out  by  the 


133  THE   GRAY    MAN 

single  gate,  my  fate  came,  as  it  were,  to  the  stern  and 
deadly  breach.  For  there  were  marksmen  who  had  their 
pieces  trained  on  that  place.  With  my  own  eyes  I  had 
seen  them  set  themselves  in  position.  Nevertheless, 
the  noise  behind  waxed  so  imminent  that  I  drew  a  long 
breath  and  sprang  at  the  oj)ening.  As  I  went  throngh, 
ten  or  twelve  pieces  at  the  least,  both  pistolets  and  hack- 
butts,  were  loosed  off  against  me.  I  heard  the  bullets 
splash,  splash  all  about  my  legs  and  body,  and  one  that 
had  bounded  from  the  lintel  of  the  door-post  dunted 
me  on  the  breastjilate,  which  it  was  a  God's  mercy  I  had 
minded  to  wear.    Yet  for  all  I  escaped  wholly  unscathed. 

Outside  the  gate  there  were  two  fellows  that  withstood 
me,  and  I  had  small  time  to  ask  whether  they  Avere  friends 
or  foes.  So,  to  make  siccar,  I  speered  no  catechisms  of 
them,  but  only  shot  off  my  pistol  into  one  of  the  thickest 
parts  of  one,  setting  the  muzzle  almost  to  his  belt,  and 
with  yet  more  gladness  gave  the  other  a  sound  iron  thrust 
in  the  shoulder.  For  all  my  life  I  have  loved  the  jioint 
more  than  the  edge — and  a  thousand  times  better  than 
the  powder  and  lead — which  is  an  uncertain  hit-or-miss 
thing  at  best. 

I  cleared  the  yett,  sprang  through,  and  there  I  had  it 
down  the  High  Street  of  Maybole  with  the  bullets  spelk- 
ing  about  me  like  hailstones,  and  chance  night-wandering 
burghers  scudding  for  their  doors  like  conies  on  the  sandy 
knowes. 

I  heard  the  fierce  rush  of  men  behind  me,  and,  looking 
over  my  shoulder,  I  saw  some  ten  running  my  way  with 
their  swords  drawn  in  their  hands.  -So  I  knew  that  it  was 
likely  there  would  be  one  among  them  who  could  out- 
run me,  having  war-gear  upon  me,  and  that  not  all  mine 
own.  With  that  I  undid  the  cloak  of  the  Laird  of  Cul- 
zean,  my  master,  and  let  it  fall  ;  and  so  much  lightened 
I  sped  on  till,  near  to  the  house  of  one  Matthew  M^Gow- 
an,  they  fairly  ran  me  to  earth. 


CHAPTER  XV 

A    MIDNIGHT   LEAGUER 

The  place  of  my  refuge  was  a  summer-house  set  in  a 
garden,  and  mostly  made  of  wood.  But  it  had  three  feet 
of  stonework  about  the  walls,  which  chance  fortifications, 
as  I  think,  saved  my  life.  Then  I  praised  the  forethought 
with  which  I  had  brought  with  me  abundant  powder  and 
shot  in  the  horns  I  had  slung  at  my  girdle.  I  also  remem- 
bered to  thank  Providence  for  misdirecting  the  bullets  as 
I  ran  out  of  the  garden  door. 

Here  in  this  small  child's  playhouse  it  was  my  fortune 
to  stand  such  a  siege  as  mayhap  never  man  stood  before. 
And  of  that  I  shall  tell,  so  that  all  may  judge  and  see 
whether  the  reward  which  the  Earl  of  Cassillis  afterwards 
obtained  for  me  was  at  all  out  of  keeping  (as  some  allege) 
with  the  services  which  I,  Launce  Kennedy,  sometime 
esquire,  rendered  to  him  and  his  house. 

Yet  I  did  the  thing  for  love,  and  by  no  means  for  re- 
ward. Ay,  and  largely  without  thought  also.  For  such 
was  the  spirit  of  the  times  that  Avagers  of  battle  were 
accepted  lightly  to  spite  one  and  overpass  another,  like 
children  that  play  follow-my-leader  upon  the  street. 

So  I  lay  in  my  summer-house,  behind  the  low  breast- 
work of  stone,  while  above  me  the  bullets  rattled  through 
the  frail  woodwork  like  hailstones  that  splash  into  still 
water. 

Lying  thus  prone  I  charged  my  pistols — a  thing  which, 
from  long  practice,  I  could  do  very  well  in  the  dark,  and 
gazed  out  through  the  open  windows  that  looked  every 


124  THE    GRAY    MAN 

way.  What  I  suffered  from  most  was  the  want  of  light 
upon  the  approaches  of  my  castle  at  the  top  of  the  gar- 
den. For  I  was  placed  upon  a  little  hill,  and  the  ground 
sloped  in  every  direction  from  me.  Yet  even  this  ad- 
vantage of  position  did  me  little  good,  for  the  light  was 
too  uncertain  to  show  me  those  that  might  come  against 
me.  And,  more  than  all,  this  uncertainty  put  me  in  a 
sweat  lest  I  should  shoot  at  shadows  and  allow  the  real 
enemy  that  came  to  invade  and  slay  me  to  pass  harmless, 
so  that  they  would  break  upon  me  before  I  was  aware. 

Occasionally,  however,  the  light  that  burned  somewhere 
in  the  town  cast  glimmerings  over  the  garden,  and  then 
I  could  see  dark  figures  that  crouched  and  scudded  be- 
hind bushes  and  sheltered  ayont  the  trunk  of  every  leaf- 
less tree.  After  that  God-sent  illumination  grew  brighter, 
I  think  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  each  time  I  got  a 
fair  chance  at  an  enemy  there  was  one  rascal  the  fewer 
alive — or  at  least  one  that  had  a  shot  the  more  in  him. 
It  cheered  me  to  see  them  crawling  out  of  the  range  of 
my  ordnances  as  if  they  had  been  few  and  I  a  host. 

Most  of  all  I  aimed,  with  the  deadliest  and  most  prayer- 
ful intent  to  kill,  at  the  tall  man  in  the  cloak,  whom  I 
had  seen  from  the  first  directing  the  ploy.  Time  and 
again  I  believed  that  I  had  him,  but  upon  each  occasion 
it  was  some  meaner  rogue  that  bore  the  brunt. 

Thus  I  held  my  own  with  Sir  Thomas's  French  pistol 
laid  aside  ready  for  them  if  the}''  came  with  a  rush,  and 
my  own  for  common  use  to  load  and  fire  again  withal, 
till  the  barrels  almost  scorched  me  with  the  heat.  Also 
I  kept  my  sword  ready  to  my  hand,  for  when  it  comes  to 
the  edge  of  death  I  put  more  confidence  in  my  blade 
than  in  all  the  ordnance  in  the  land.  Though  Heaven 
forbid  that  I  should  speak  against  the  pistolet,  when  that 
very  night  I  liad  so  often  owed  my  life  to  it.  My  chief 
hope  now  was  that  the  Provost  of  the  place,  who  had 
been  a  guest  with  Sir  Thomas,  might  escape  and  rouse 


A    MIDNIGHT   LEAGUER  125 

the  townsfolk.  The  people  of  Maybole  loved  not  the 
Barganies  greatly,  but,  on  the  contrary,  were  devoted  to 
the  service  of  my  master  Culzean,  because  of  his  kindli- 
ness of  disposition,  and  the  heartsome  way  he  had  of 
calling  them  all  "Sandy"  and  "Jeems,"  according  to 
their  Christian  name,  a  thing  which  goes  a  far  road  in 
Scotland. 

It  so  happened  just  then  that  the  fire  that  did  me  so 
much  good — which,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  was  lighted 
by  one  of  my  enemies  for  frolic  in  the  wood-yard  of  one 
Duncan  Crerar,  millwright — burned  up  a  little  and  cast 
a  skarroAV  over  the  garden  where  I  was.  When  it  was  at 
its  brightest  there  came  four  fellows  running  up  the  brae, 
all  with  their  swords  bare  in  their  hands,  so  that  it  seemed 
that  I  was  as  good  as  dead,  for  it  was  manifestly  im- 
possible that  I  could  withstand  them  all.  But  I  minded 
the  saying  of  a  great  captain  of  the  old  wars,  ''Stop  you 
the  front  rank,  and  the  second  will  stop  of  itself."  So  I 
took  good  and  careful  aim  with  my  pistols  at  the  two 
fellows  that  led  the  charge,  and  fired.  The  first  of  them 
tossed  his  blade  in  the  air,  spun  about  like  a  weathercock, 
and  fell  headlong,  while  the  other,  lamed  in  his  leg,  as 
it  appeared,  tried  to  crawl  back  down  the  hill  again. 
The  two  that  came  behind  were  no  little  daunted  by  this 
fall.  Nevertheless,  they  still  came  on,  but  I  cried  out  as 
loud  as  I  could,  "  Give  me  the  other  pistols.  Sir  Thomas, 
and  I  shall  do  for  these  two  scoundrels  also  !" 

At  which  they  gave  back  in  great  astonishment,  and  ran, 
I  make  no  doubt,  to  tell  their  masters  that  they  had  to  do 
with  more  than  one  old  man  well  lined  with  sack  and 
canary.  Then  in  the  breathing  space  I  charged  my 
pistols  again,  and  cried  to  the  fellow  that  was  limjiing 
along  the  ground  by  the  back  of  my  summer-house  : 

''Link  it,  my  lad,  back  to  your  master,  or  I  shall  put 
another  bullet  in  ye,  in  a  place  where  it  will  stop  you 
from  groaning  and  hirjoling  there  at  my  lug  !" 


136  THE    GRAY   MAN" 

For  I  understood  well  that  he  desired  to  take  me  in 
the  rear. 

At  this  moment  there  happened  a  thing  surprising.  I 
saw  a  tall,  dark  figure  overleap  a  wall  at  the  side  from 
which  the  shots  came  thinnest.  I  saw  it  stoop  and  lay 
•fire  to  something  that  was  darker  than  itself,  when  in- 
stantly there  arose  from  the  pile  of  millwright's  shavings 
and  kindling-wood  a  clear  light  which  caused  all  the 
garden  to  be  seen  without  any  difficulty. 

Then  the  tall,  unknown  figure,  which  seemed  yet  un- 
accountably familiar  to  me,  walked  slowly  up  the  middle 
walk  towards  the  summer-house,  the  pistols  cracking  all 
about,  and  the  bullets  splashing  faster  than  ever  upon 
the  roof  and  sides  of  my  shelter. 

Then  I  saw  who  it  was. 

"Eun  for  it,  Robert  Harburgli!"  I  cried.  ''Man,  you 
are  mad!" 

But  I  declare  he  never  altered  by  a  single  pulse-beat  his 
deliberate  advance.  At  the  door  he  paused  as  one  that 
upon  the  threshold  would  turn  to  kick  a  yelping  cur. 
Then  giving  the  sharpshooters  a  wave  of  his  hand  in  con- 
tempt, he  entered  and  shut  the  door. 

''Saint  Kentigern's  fish  and  a  thousand  devils!"  said  I ; 
"  I  am  not  feared  of  any  man,  but  there  is  no  sense  in 
foolhardiness,  Robert.  Come  in  out  of  reach  of  their 
bullets  this  moment,  thou  fool  I" 

"  Ah,"  he  returned  to  me,  "I  had  as  lief  die  and  be  done 
with  it." 

"  But  then  I  would  not,  for  my  stomach  is  in  good  or- 
der," replied  I,  swiftly;  "so  lie  down  on  thy  belly,  and  at 
the  least  help  me  to  keep  alive,  for  I  am  most  consumedly 
anxious  to  keep  my  body  from  proving  leaky  by  the  enter- 
ing in  of  bullets." 

So,  obediently  he  laid  him  down,  watching  one  side  of 
our  cunning  defences.  He  told  me  that  he  had  heard 
what  was  a-doing — hoAV  that  the  Mures  and  Drummur- 


A   MIDNIGHT   LEAGUER  127 

chies,  together  with  Sawny  Bean,  the  savage  carl  that  was 
called  of  the  common  people  "  The  Earl  of  Hell,"  had  got- 
ten the  Laird  of  Culzean  in  a  little  summer-house  in  a 
walled  garden,  and  Avere  there  worrying  him  to  death. 

''So,"  said  Harburgh,  "having  naught  better  to  do,  I 
primed  my  pistols  and  came." 

The  firing  upon  us  grew  hotter  than  ever.  We  seemed 
at  times  to  be  closed  within  a  ring  of  fire.  Yet  neither 
of  us  were  the  least  hurt,  save  that  a  chip  from  the  edge 
of  a  stone,  driven  off  by  a  bullet,  had  struck  me  on  the 
cheek  and  made  it  bleed. 

When  the  fire  which  Robert  Harburgh  had  lighted 
burned  up,  we  that  were  marksmen  lost  no  chances  at  any 
who  showed  so  much  as  an  arm  or  leg.  And  many  of 
those  murderous  rascals  whom  we  did  not  kill  outright 
(not  having  a  fair  chance  at  them  from  their  lying  in 
shelter  and  other  causes)  Avere  at  least  winged  and  sore 
damaged,  so  that  we  judged  that  there  would  be  some 
roods  of  lint  bandage  required  about  Drummurchie  and 
Auchendrayne  on  the  morrow. 

Outside  we  heard  a  great  and  growing  turmoil  and  the 
sound  of  many  voices  crying,  "  To  the  death  with  the 
murderers  I     Break  down  the  doors  !" 

It  was  the  noise  of  the  people  who  had  risen  in  the 
night  and  were  coming  to  help  us.  For  in  a  moment  the 
gate  of  the  yard  was  broken  down,  and  a  rout  of  men  in 
steel  caps  and  hastily  donned  armor  came  pouring  in. 
And  it  had  been  comical  to  watch  the  array,  if  our 
urgent  business  had  allowed.  For  some  had  put  on 
a  breastplate  over  their  night-gear ;  some  fought  like 
Highlandmen  in  their  sark-tails,  which,  on  the  night  of 
the  New-year,  must  have  been  breezy  wear  ;  while  others 
again  had  snatched  a  hackbutt  and  had  forgotten  the 
powder,  so  that  now  they  carried  the  weapon  like  a  club 
by  the  barrel. 

Before  these  angry  levies  our  cruel  invaders  vanished 


128  THE   GRAY   MAN 

like  smoke,  as  though  they  had  never  been,  clambering 
over  walls  and  scurrying  through  entries.  But  it  is  re- 
ported that  several  of  them  were  sore  hurt  in  thus  escap- 
ing— indeed,  here  and  there  throughout  the  town  were 
no  fewer  than  five  dead  and  six  wounded,  chiefly  in  the 
two  gardens  where  I  had  been  compelled  to  discharge  my 
pistols. 

Robert  Harburgh  stepped  out  of  the  summer-house 
before  them  all,  stretching  his  limbs. 

"'Tis  a  cramped,  ungodly  place,  friends,"  he  said. 
"  After  all,  it  is  better  to  fight  in  the  open  and  risk  it !" 

"  Where  is  the  Laird  of  Culzean  ?"  cried  some  that 
knew  him  not.  "  If  ye  cannot  show  us  the  laird,  ye  shall 
die  forthwith  1" 

"  Nay,"  replied  Harburgh,  "concerning  that  I  ken  not. 
'Tis  not  in  my  province,  being  general  information.  My 
parish  is  fighting,  not  the  answering  of  questions.  Come 
hither,  Launce,  and  tell  them  of  thy  master  !" 

Whereat  I  came  forth  and  told  them  of  the  cruel  plot 
and  the  attack  upon  Sir  Thomas  at  Nisbett's  house.  But 
they  would  not  be  satisfied  till  they  had  gone  there  and 
found  him.  Nothing  would  do  but  that  he  should  show 
himself  unhurt  and  speak  a  word  to  them  at  the  window. 
Which,  being  of  short-grained  temper  and  with  a  mon- 
strous headache,  he  was  most  loath  to  do.  But  Robert 
Harburgh,  who  had  experience  of  such  like,  being  before 
his  marriage  a  great  man  of  his  cups,  poured  water  upon 
his  head,  and,  having  dried  it  by  rubbing,  he  brought  him 
to  the  window,  where  he  spoke  to  the  people  as  his  kind- 
ly friends  and  neighbors,  and  thanked  them  for  their 
affection. 

'^Nay,"  cried  one,  "thank  your  own  young  squire,  who 
has  to-night  ta'en  your  life  upon  him," 

So  the  people  of  Maybole,  for  the  honest  and  honorable 
love  which  they  bore  us,  abode  under  arms  till  the  morn- 
ing, and  searched  all  the  town  for  the  murdering  ruffians 


A   MIDNIGHT    LEAGUER  129 

of  Drummurchie.  Yet  they  found  tliem  uot,  for  such 
always  have  a  back  door  to  escape  by. 

In  the  morning  Sir  Thomas  called  for  his  hat  and 
cloak,  and  when  they  were  brought  he  started  in  wonder 
and  cried,  "  What,  in  the  name  of  the  shrunk  shanks  of 
the  Abbot  of  Crossraguel,  is  the  meaning  of  this  hole  ?" 

Then  Eobert  Ilarburgh  said,  *'  ^Tis  but  an  airy  summer 
suit  that  Launcelot  wore  last  night,  when  he  went  forth 
among  those  that  sought  to  kill  the  Laird  of  Culzean." 

My  master  stared  without  comprehending.  But  when 
he  fully  understood  he  clasped  me  in  his  arms. 

''God  knows,"  he  said,  "I  would  give  my  right  hand 
if  I  could  believe  that  I  had  a  son  who  would  ever  do  as 
much  for  me.  Those  I  have  are  good  for  naught  but 
golf  and  stool-ball." 

Wherein  by  his  hasty  words  he  did  his  honest,  silly  lads 
much  wrong. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
GRAYBEARDS    AND    DIMPLE  CHIN'S 

OiSTE  Sabbatli  morn  there  came  an  unwonted  message 
to  me  as  I  sat  lingering  and  idle  in  the  armory  of  Cul- 
zean.  I  had  cleaned  my  own  graith  and  oiled  the  pistols 
— which  I  regularly  did  on  the  Sabbath  morning  when- 
ever I  did  not  go  to  the  kirk  at  Maybole.  Now  this 
particular  day  of  which  I  speak  I  was  idly  conning  the 
leaves  of  a  song-book  full  of  trifling,  vain,  and  amatorious 
lilts  and  catches — some  of  them  very  pleasant,  however, 
and  taking  to  the  mind.  It  ought  to  have  been  my  psalm- 
book  that  I  was  at,  God  forgive  me !  but  since  ballad-book 
it  was,  yfhj,  even  so  will  I  set  it  down  here. 

And  the  message  that  came  was  by  the  mouth  of  a  kind 
of  jackal  or  lickpot  of  John  Dick's — wlio,  for  reasons  of 
his  own,  hated  me,  chiefly  because  I  took  no  share  in  the 
foulness  of  him  and  his  subservient  crew.  This  youth 
was  of  so  little  worth  that  in  all  the  transactions  of  this 
book  he  has  not  once  come  into  the  narrative — though,  as 
I  now  remember,  he  was  at  the  tulzie  in  Edinburgh,  and 
also  at  the  flitting  of  tlie  sow.  On  both  occasions  he  was 
the  first  to  run. 

The  name  of  him  was  Colin  Millar,  an  ill-favored, 
envious,  upsetting  knave,  compact  of  various  ignorances 
and  incapacities.  And  there  needs  no  more  to  be  said 
about  him. 

"  There  is  a  man  wanting  to  see  you  down  at  Sandy 
Allison's,  the  Grieve's,"  he  said. 

Then  he  looked  at  me   with  the  cast  in  his  eye  as 


GRAYBEARDS    AKD    DIMPLE    CHINS  131 

crooked  as  a  paddock's  hind-leg,  and  says  he,  ^'The  fat 
will  be  in  the  fire  now,  I'm  thinking.  They  tell  me  that 
it  is  the  minister  !" 

I  knew  very  well  what  the  ill-tongned  hound  meant. 
So  right  gladly  without  a  word  I  set  the  knuckles  of  my 
hand.  Sabbath  morning  though  it  was,  against  his  ugly 
face  in  a  way  that  would  leave  a  mark  for  a  day  or  two. 

"  Take  you  that,  dog/'  I  said  to  him,  "  and  learn  to 
keep  a  more  ruly  member  in  your  insolent  head.  Think 
not  that  you  are  John  Dick,  though  you  carry  his  dirty 
slanders.  As  the  wild  boar  gnashes  its  tushes,  so  the 
little  piglings  squeak  !" 

And  as  he  went  away,  lowering  and  snarling,  I  had  a 
mind  to  go  after  him  and  give  him  something  more  than 
my  knuckles.  For  the  thing  he  meant  was  a  lie  of  the 
devil,  lighted  at  his  furnace  and  spewed  out  of  the  reek 
of  his  pit. 

But  as  I  went  to  the  door  there  came  a  poor  lad  from 
the  stable  with  the  same  message — that  there  waited  one 
for  me  at  the  house  of  Sandy  Allison,  the  Grieve. 

So  I  knew  that  the  dog  Millar  had  not  invented  the 
whole  matter.  Whereupon  I  looked  carefully  to  my 
gear,  did  a  new  doublet  upon  me  (because  it  was  the 
Sabbath  day),  and  girt  me  Avith  a  sash  of  blue,  coft  in 
Edinburgh  and  never  before  worn.  Then  setting  my 
sword  in  its  sheath,  I  went  out  through  the  woods, 
which  were  now  grown  leafless  and  songiess. 

There  was  a  brisk  air  of  winter,  crisp,  without  raw- 
ness, in  the  breeze,  and  I  was  glad  to  be  out-of-doors ; 
for  since  the  matter  of  the  meeting  with  Gilbert  Ken- 
nedy, which  by  ill  chance  I  had  seen,  both  Marjorie  and 
Neir  came  seldom  my  way.  Which  is,  perhaps,  why  I 
looked  so  well  to  my  apparelling  ere  I  went  to  the 
Grieve's  house.  For  a  h^d  wearies  for  the  speech  of 
women-folk,  and  if  he  gets  not  one  kind — why,  he  will 
seek  another. 


132  THE    GRAY    MAN 

But  now,  -when  I  come  to  think  of  it,  I  need  not  have 
troubled  so  to  deck  myself.  For  after  the  corner  is 
turned,  and  the  long  lane  leads  straight  to  the  garden  of 
roses,  a  woman  cares  not  whether  a  man  be  clothed  in 
dishclouts  or  whether  he  glitters  like  a  bridegroom  in 
cloth  of  gold. 

So  when  I  came  near  to  the  house  there  issued  forth 
to  meet  me  Kate  Allison,  which  seemed  to  me  like  an- 
cient days  come  back,  and  my  heart  beat  in  a  fashion  I 
never  thought  to  feel  again.  For  a  burnt  stick  is  easi- 
ly lighted,  and  Kate  Allison  was,  without  doubt,  both 
bonny  and  kind.  She  was  waiting  for  me  at  the  corner 
of  the  barn  like  one  that  has  an  assignation.  So  when 
she  came  near  me  she  put  her  arms  roguishly  behind  her, 
and  said,  "Launce  Kennedy,  you  are  a  false,  deceitful 
lad,  and  no  true  lover.  But  think  ye  not  that  I  care  a 
pin,  for  I  have  gotten  a  braw  lad  of  my  own,  and  no 
thanks  to  you.  Ye  can  get  the  Lady  Marjorie  to  con- 
voy hame  next  year  from  the  Maybole  Fair." 

And  her  speech  made  me  glad,  for  she  dropped  me  a 
courtesy  and  pretended  to  march  off.  So  I  knew  full 
well  that  if  she  had  not  been  heart-whole  and  at  ease 
about  all  doubtful  matters,  she  would  have  greeted  me 
very  differently.  So,  as  I  say,  I  was  glad.  Yet  presently 
I  liked  it  not  so  well  as  I  expected,  for  though  men  are 
often  false  to  their  loves,  they  never  understand  how 
their  loves  can  change  from  loving  them.  I  knew  well 
that  Kate  would,  if  not  meddled  with,  immediately  re- 
turn to  tell  me  what  had  befallen,  and  why  it  was  that 
they  had  sent  for  me. 

Which  indeed  was  just  what  she  did. 

*'We  have  gotten  a  mighty  grave  man  here  with  us, 
who  came  to  our  house  last  night  at  e'en.  We  wanted 
to  send  word  to  the  castle  to  Sir  Thomas  ;  but  the  man 
said  that  he  had  had  enough  of  the  Kennedies  to  last 
him  his  lifetime,  and  that  he  would  put  up  with  us,  if 


GKAYBEARDS   AND    DIMPLE   CHINS  183 

wc  conld  make  sliift  to  give  him  a  bed.  lie  is  a  man  of 
a  majestic  and  noble  countenance,  and  when  he  had 
come  within  he  took  a  Bible  from  his  wallet,  and  tairged 
us  tightly  on  the  histories  of  the  wars  of  the  Jews  and  on 
points  of  doctrine." 

''Ye  would  be  fit  for  that,"  said  I  to  her,  laughing, 
"for  most  of  our  discourse  has  been  upon  points  of 
doctrine  and  practice  —  though  I  mind  not  that  we 
touched  upon  the  wars  of  the  Jews.  We  had  ever  wars 
enough  of  our  own.     Was  it  not  so,  sweet  Kate  ?" 

And  I  would  have  taken  her  by  the  waist,  for  that  is 
ever  the  way,  as  I  have  just  been  reading  in  my  song-book, 
to  punish  a  woman  when,  like  a  pretty  scold,  she  slan- 
ders her  love.  So,  as  the  London  stage  catch  hath  it,  I 
forgave  her  for  it.  Yet  for  all  she  would  by  no  means 
permit  me  to  come  near  her — which  I  was  mortally  sorry 
for.  Because  though  I  wanted  her  to  change,  I  desired 
her  not  to  change  so  mightily  as  all  that. 

"  Na,  na,"  she  said,  "  and  that's  by  with.  Kate  Allison 
needs  no  general  lovers.  Wear  you  your  own  lady's  favors ; 
I  can  get  them  that  loe  me  and  none  other  to  wear  mine." 

I  pursued  the  subject  no  further  at  that  time,  mean- 
ing, however,  to  return  to  it.  For  a  man  likes  not  to 
see  the  things  which  have  been  freely  his  slipping  from 
him  like  corn  through  a  wide-meshed  riddle.  It  makes 
his  mind  linger  after  things  long  past,  and  he  begins  to 
thint  them  sweeter  than  any  favors  that  ever  he  had, 
even  when  all  the  garden  was  most  fully  his  to  Avander 
in  and  cull  at  his  lordly  pleasure. 

Too  soon  for  my  liking,  therefore,  we  came  to  the  door 
of  the  Grieve's  house,  which  was  but  a  wide  kitchen  with 
two  smaller  rooms  off  it.  I  heard  a  voice  uplifted  as  it 
seemed  in  prayer,  and  I  bethought  me  with  shame  of  my 
so  late  mean  and  earthly  thoughts  ;  but  I  looked  at  Kate 
Allison,  and  she  was  so  pleasant  to  look  upon  that  I 
found  excuses  for  myself. 


134  THE    GRAY    MAN" 

Then  the  prayer  being  done,  we  went  in,  and  they  told 
the  man  in  the  inner  room  that  that  same  Launcelot 
Kennedy,  for  whom  he  had  inquired,  was  come. 

So  in  a  moment  there  came  forth  from  the  inner  cham- 
ber, even  as  I  had  expected,  Maister  Eobert  Bruce.  He 
wore  his  long,  black  cloak,  and  his  fine  cloth  coat  showed 
soberly  beneath  it.  His  hat  was  on  his  head,  which  he 
doffed  for  a  moment  to  Kate  Allison  and  her  mother, 
and  then  set  on  again.  He  bade  them  excuse  him,  for 
that  he  had  much  business  to  talk  with  me.  I  followed 
him  out,  and  as  I  passed  Kate  methought  she  looked 
disappointed  that  I  should  go  thus  soon.  So,  the  corners 
of  her  mouth  being  down,  and  her  mother's  back  turned, 
I  put  my  hand  beneath  her  chin,  and  plucked  at  the 
loose  slip-knot  of  her  bonnet,  which  was  a  pretty  quip- 
some  thing  that  haymakers  use,  but  prettier  on  her  than 
on  any  of  them.  Whereat  she  flashed  forth  a  great 
sharp  pin  and  set  it  spitefully  in  my  arm,  which  also 
was  a  pleasing  habit  of  hers.  But  all  Avas  innocent  and 
friendly  enough,  and  my  only  excuse  for  thinking  more 
of  daffing  with  Kate  Allison  than  of  listening  to  the  grave 
converse  of  Maister  Eobert  Bruce  is  that  then  I  Avas 
nearing  nineteen  years  of  my  age — Avhich,  as  you  all  do 
know,  is  a  time  Avlien  maids'  dimples  are  more  moving 
than  the  Avisdom  of  the  sages. 

That  is  all  mine  excuse,  and,  as  well  I  wot,  but  a  j)Oor 
one.  Yet  when  once  Maister  Bruce  had  me  in  the  Avood, 
taking  me  by  the  arm,  the  majesty  of  his  countenance 
and  the  moving  fervor  of  his  voice  so  Avorked  upon  me 
that  in  good  sooth  I  thought  of  naught  but  Avhat  he  said. 

He  told  me  that  he  Avas  resolved  to  depart  out  of  this 
land  of  Carrick  and  Kyle,  Avhich  might  have  been  the 
Garden  of  Eden  if  it  were  not  inhabited  by  devils.  He 
had  come  no  speed  at  reconciling  the  parties  at  feud, 
even  as  I  could  have  told  him  before  he  began. 

"When  I  had  thought,"  he  said,  "that  I  had  made 


ONCE  MAISTER  BRUCE   HAD   ME   IN   THE   WOOD,   I   THOUGHT   OF 
NAUGHT   BUT  WHAT   HE   SAID  " 


GKAYBEARDS    AND    DIMPLE    CHINS  135 

some  wfiy  in  softening  the  heart  of  Gilbert  Kennedy, 
who  vaunts  himself  to  be  sincerely  attached  to  me — and 
I  do  believe  it — I  said  to  him  that  he  onght,  for  the  set- 
tling of  the  quarrel,  to  give  in  his  submission  to  his  liege 
lord,  the  Earl  of  Cassillis.  In  a  moment  comes  the  fire 
into  his  eyes,  the  anger  grows  black  in  his  heart,  and  all 
my  good  words  are  undone.  I  think  you  Kennedies  are 
all  of  you  possessed  with  evil  spirits,  even  as  it  was  in 
the  days  of  the  Gadarene  out  of  whom  Christ  cast  many 
devils." 

He  paused  a  moment,  and  then  continued  : 

"^So  the  name  of  the  devils  of  Carrick  is  Legion,  for 
they  are  very  many  !" 

Then,  being  sorry  that  he  should  so  speak  of  those  who, 
after  all,  were  my  master's  kin  and  in  a  manner  my  own 
— for  all  the  world  knows  that  a  blood  feud  is  a  thing 
acknowledged  in  the  Bible,  as  one  may  see  when  David 
lay  on  his  death-bed — I  asked  him  how  I  could  serve  him, 
in  order  that  I  might  stay  his  abuse  of  that  which  he  did 
not  understand. 

''You  may  wonder,"  he  went  on,  "that  I  choose  to 
speak  in  confidence  to  one  that  is  but  an  esquire,  and,  I 
hear,  as  ready  with  his  sword  in  the  quarrel  as  any  of 
them.  But  at  least  you  are  not  like  the  rest,  occupied 
entirely  with  the  safety  of  your  own  skin,  and  unwilling 
to  look  the  matter  in  the  face." 

I  told  him  that  I  did  not  wonder  at  all  that  he  was 
willing  to  speak  to  me,  for  that  I  could  keep  my  counsel 
truly  and  well. 

"  Faith,  and  I  believe  that,"  he  cried,  ''if  it  were  only 
your  self-conceit  of  being  able  to  do  it." 

But  I  understood  not  at  all  what  he  meant,  for  if  there 
is  anything  that  I  am  conspicuously  lacking  in  it  is  this 
very  quality  of  self-conceit. 

"  Hear  ye,  then,  and  mark  well  my  words,"  said  the 
Minister  of  Edinburgh.    "  There  is  a  man  in  this  country 


136  THE    GRAY    MAN 

wlio  is  at  the  root  of  n,ll  the  blood  and  all  the  slaughter, 
and  who,  if  he  be  not  curbed,  will  yet  do  tenfold  more 
mischief.  Your  master  thinks  that  he  can  bribe  him  to 
friendship  ;  well,  I  am  no  judge  of  men  if  the  man  is  to 
be  bribed  at  any  price  beneath  the  sole  joower  and  sway 
of  all  this  wild  country  of  the  west." 

"  It  is  Gilbert  Kennedy  of  Bargany  that  you  mean," 
said  I,  for  I  own  I  was  Jealous  of  his  good  name,  enemy 
though  he  was. 

"  Gilbert  Kennedy  is  but  a  hammer  in  this  man's  hand. 
Your  good  knight  here  at  Culzean  is  but  a  spoon  for  him 
to  sup  with.  And  the  only  man  that  sees  through  him 
(and  that  but  partially)  is  your  jolter- headed  Earl, 
whose  keen  care  for  the  merks,  the  duties,  and  the  tacks 
makes  him  somewhat  clearer  in  the  eye  than  the  rest  of 
you." 

"■  And  who  is  this  plotter  ?"  said  I. 

He  stopped  and  looked  about  him  to  see  that  none  was 
listening.     Then  he  laid  his  lips  almost  to  my  ear. 

He  whispered  a  name  Avhich,  in  this  place,  I  must  not 
write,  though  afterwards  it  will  be  plain  enough. 

"  It  is  simply  not  possible,"  said  I ;  "  the  man  you  men- 
tion is  but  a  bonnet  laird,  as  one  might  say,  with  a  peel- 
tower  and  a  holding  of  half  a  dozen  crofts.  Why,  my 
master  could  eat  him  up  saltless,  without  turning  out 
more  than  half  a  parish  of  his  fighting-men." 

''Nevertheless,"  said  Robert  Bruce,  "that  is  the  man 
who  stands  behind  and  makes  the  miracles  work,  as  in 
Popish  days  the  priests  were  wont  to  do  behind  the 
altar.  Ye  are  but  a  set  of  jigging  fools  here  in  Oarrick, 
and  the  man  that  pipes  to  you  is  the  man  I've  told 
ye  of  !" 

Then  I  thought  over  the  matter — all  that  I  knew  of 
the  man. 

"  In  truth,"  said  I,  "  I  am  none  so  sure  that  you  may 
not  be  right." 


GKAYBEAKDS    AND    DIMPLE    CHINS  137 

T\ol)crt  Bruce  smiled  as  one  that  waxes  aweary  of  a 
babe's  prattle. 

''For,"  said  I,  "  I  mind  that  I  heard  him  endeavor  to 
win  one  by  promises  to  the  side  of  Bargany — " 

"  Pshaw,"  said  the  minister,  "he  would  as  readily  try 
to  win  Bargany  to  the  Earl's  side,  if  it  suited  him  to 
murder  them  both  together.  It  is  his  plan  to  make  them 
fio-ht  each  other  till  there  are  none  left — to  cut  off  the 
heads  of  the  taller  poppies  as  in  the  ancient  tale  of  Rome. 
I  tell  you  this  man  has  no  side  but  his  own,  no  desire  but 
his  own  profit,  no  end  but  to  make  himself  supreme  in 
Carrick." 

"  And  what  can  I,  that  am  but  a  squire  and  a  youth,  do 
in  the  matter  ?"  said  I. 

"  You  are  on  the  spot,  Launcelot,"  said  the  minister, 
kindly.  "I  am  in  Edinburgh,  and  if  things  march  as 
evilly  as  they  have  been  doing  of  late  it  is  likely  I  shall 
be  even  farther  afield  than  Edinburgh.  But  you  can 
watch — you  can  judge  whom  it  boots  to  warn.  You  can 
put  in  a  word — " 

''I  shall  put  in  a  sword,"  said  I,  stamping  my  foot; 
''put  it  in  deep  —  to  think  of  such  deceit  and  guile  in  a 
mere  vassal  and  understrapper  of  my  lord's." 

"Launcelot,"  said  the  Minister  of  Edinburgh,  "you 
begin  to  make  me  sorry  I  trusted  you.  I  should  have 
spoken  to  a  graver  man." 

"  Nay,  sir,"  I  said,  "  you  mistake  me.  I  but  mean  that 
if  it  came  to  the  bitter  bite  of  iron,  the  time  for  words 
might  go  by." 

"Ay,"  he  replied,  thoughtfully,  "there  is  some  sense 
in  that,  but  give  not  up  the  judicious  words  too 
early. " 

So  we  betook  ourselves  gravely  and  staidly  out  of  the 
wood,  and  at  bidding  him  farewell  I  received  his  benedic- 
tion, which  he  gave  me  with  his  right  hand  stretched  out. 
And  though  I  am  tall  and  stand  as  erect  as  any  man,  yet 


138  THE    GRAy    MAN 

the  Minister  of  Edinburgh  overtowered  me  by  half  a  foot. 
But  I  minded  that  not  in  him. 

So  I  went  to  the  castle  armory  to  bethink  me,  for  after 
what  I  had  heard  maids  and  bonnet-strings  were  not  to 
be  more  in  my  tliouglit  that  day. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   CORBIES   AT  THE   EAGLE'S   NEST 

One  snowy  day,  I  mind  it  was  a  Thursday  according 
to  the  day  of  the  week,  I  had  ridden  to  Girvan  by  the 
shore  road.  I  journeyed  unmolested,  save  that  one  sent 
a  shot  after  me  as  I  passed  the  tower  of  Girvanmaius. 
But  this  not  so  much,  I  think,  with  intent  to  do  me  an 
injury  as  because  they  saw  my  Cassillis  colors,  and  could 
not  let  them  pass  unchallenged  by  a  yett  of  the  Bargany 
folk. 

But  upon  my  return  I  got  one  of  the  greatest  surprises 
of  my  life,  for  as  I  rode  gladly  into  the  courtyard  of  Cul- 
zean,  lo !  there  was  my  lord  out  on  the  steps,  with  the 
noble  courtesy  and  distinction  which  none  could  assume 
so  well  as  he,  being  indeed  natural  to  him,  bidding  fare- 
well to  a  pair  of  guests  whom  I  never  looked  to  see  in 
the  courtyard  of  Culzean,  save  as  it  might  be  coming 
in  decently,  heels  first,  for  the  purposes  of  Christian 
burial. 

The  two  strangers  were  John  Mure  of  Auchendrayne 
and  the  young  Laird,  his  son.  The  old  man  was  dressed 
as  I  first  saw  him — in  plain,  fine  cloth  of  blue,  without 
decoration.  He  wore  no  arms  or  any  armor  that  was 
visible — though  by  the  square  setting  of  his  body  as  he 
came  down  the  steps  I  judged  that  he  wore  a  stand  of 
chain-mail  underneath.  His  son  James,  a  cruel,  loutish, 
hot-headed,  but  not  wholly  ill-looking  young  man,  was 
clad  in  the  gayest  fashion.  He  wore  the  wide,  falling 
lace  collar   which  Prince  Henry  had  brought   in  from 


140  THE   GRAY   MAK 

FrancO;,  and  a  pointed  doublet  and  wide  breeches  of  the 
newest  English  mode. 

It  was  John  Mnre  who  was  speaking,  for  his  son  was 
but  a  lout,  and  had  little  to  say  all  the  days  of  him.  He 
waved  his  hand  to  the  steps,  by  the  door  of  Culzean, 
whereon  there  stood  Marjorie  Kennedy,  with  her  arm  on 
Nell's  shoulder,  both  being  pale  as  death,  and  seeming 
more  dowie  and  sad  than  I  had  ever  seen  them  look  before. 

"  It  is  to  be  the  burying  of  strife,"  cried  Auchen- 
drayne  ;  "in  this  loving-cup  I  drink  it.  The  day  of 
our  love  is  at  the  dawning,  and  the  auguries  of  the  time 
to  come  are  of  the  happiest.  To  our  next  and  sweeter 
merrymaking  !" 

And  Sir  Thomas,  with  his  face  one  beaming  smile  of 
pleasure,  bade  him  a  loving  farewell,  and  told  him  to 
haste  back,  for  that  cousins  thus  joined  in  affection  could 
not  be  too  often  together. 

And  all  the  while  I  sat  Dom  Nicholas  as  one  that  is 
sunk  fathoms  deep  in  blank  astonishment. 

As  Auchendrayne  rode  through  the  gateway  he  waved 
his  hand  to  me,  and,  turning  to  Culzean,  where  he  stood 
looking  after  them,  he  cried,  in  the  hearing  of  them  all : 

"  You  have  there  the  handsomest  and  the  boldest  squire 
in  all  the  south  country,  Culzean.  This  is  the  bruit  that 
I  hear  of  this  young  man  everywhere  I  go." 

And  so,  still  smiling  and  bowing,  he  rode  away,  with 
his  son  half  a  length  of  his  horse  behind  him. 

But  I  gave  him  no  greeting,  neither  yea  not  nay — but 
regarded  him  with  a  fixed  countenance.  For  my  heart 
was  like  stone  within  me,  because  of  the  sorrow  that  I 
saw  coming  on  the  house  and  could  noways  prevent. 

Now  the  bitterness  of  this  winter  did  not  come  till 
some  time  after  the  New-year.  It  was  about  the  midst 
of  January,  when  the  frost  bit  most  keenly  and  the  snow 
began  to  fall  most  deeply.  The  Culzean  lads,  James, 
Alexander,  and  little  David  (who  was  my  favorite),  caused 


THE   CORBIES   AT  THE   EAGLE's   NEST  141 

the  court  and  out-buildings  to  ring  with  happiness.  Joy 
and  peace  seemed  indeed  for  a  little  to  have  come  back  to 
Culzean.  This  was  the  first  snow  since  David  had  donned 
the  trunks  and  laid  by  the  bairn's  kilts — which  are  indeed 
mortally  cold  wear  in  the  winter  season  when  it  comes  to 
rolling  in  the  snow. 

David,  as  I  say,  was  my  favorite,  and  continually,  in  my 
loneliness,  a  comfort  to  me,  though  I  have  not  hitherto 
often  mentioned  him,  seeing  that  the  young  lads  of  Cul- 
zean come  not  into  my  tale  greatly,  saving  at  this  time. 
Though,  in  the  coming  day,  they  may  into  the  tales  others 
shall  tell,  when  we  that  now  prank  it  so  gayly  are  no  bet- 
ter than  the  broken  shards  of  a  drained  pottle-pot.  But 
little  Davie  was  a  merry  lad,  and  I  am  glad  that  there  is 
occasion  for  me  to  name  him  in  this  history. 

Davie  was  now  manfully  equipped  in  doublet  and 
trunk  hosen  of  duffle  gray  homespun,  so  thick  that  his 
brothers  feigned  that  with  a  little  trouble  and  propping 
they  stood  up  very  well  by  themselves,  when  their  daily 
tenant  had  untrussed  him  and  gone  to  bed. 

And  ever  the  snow  came  down.  It  lay  deep  on  all  the 
face  of  the  country,  but  more  especially  it  had  swirled 
into  the  courtyard  of  Culzean,  so  that  the  very  steps  of 
the  door  were  sleeked,  and  great  wreaths  lay  every  way 
about  the  court.  The  lads  made  revel  in  it,  borroAviug 
shovels  from  the  stables  and  throwing  up  the  snow  on 
either  side,  so  as  to  make  narrow  passages  between  the 
different  doors  of  the  castle  and  the  offices  about. 

I  cannot  set  down,  because  that  there  is  press  of  mat- 
ters more  serious  yet  to  be  related,  a  tithe  of  the  merry 
pranks  the  rogues  wrought  in  their  madness.  They  rev- 
elled in  the  smother  of  the  snoAV  like  whelps  that  are 
turned  loose.  Yet  because  there  is  none  too  much  of 
merriment  in  this  chronicle,  I  shall  make  shift  to  toll 
somewhat  of  their  quipsome  rascaldom. 

It  chanced  one  morning  that  Alexander,  who  was  of  a 


143  THE   GRAY   MAN 

mirthful  mind,  stood  by  a  little  door  which  led  into  the 
house  wherein  our  peats  and  turfs  were  kept  for  the  fires, 
so  that  it  might  not  be  necessary  to  bring  a  supply  each 
day  from  the  peat-stacks  on  the  hill  where  the  greater 
store  was. 

Whether  Sandy's  head  ached  from  having  eaten  too 
many  cakes  at  the  time  of  the  New -year  I  know  not, 
but  suddenly  it  came  into  his  mind  that  it  might  be  a  de- 
sirable thing  and  a  cooling  to  stick  his  bullet  head  into  a 
mighty  snowdrift  which  lay  in  front  of  the  peat-house 
door.  So  accordingly,  for  no  particular  reason,  he  bent 
himself  into  an  arch  and  thrust  his  head  neck-deej)  into 
the  snow. 

At  this  moment  came  his  elder  brother,  James  Ken- 
nedy, upon  the  scene,  and  his  mood  was  also  merry. 

"  Bless  the  rascal," quoth  he,  "whither  hath  his  tidy 
lump  of  a  top-knot  betaken  itself  to  ?" 

So  without  loss  of  a  moment  the  rogue  made  him  a 
large  ball  of  snow,  well  compacted,  and  caused  it  to 
burst  u23on  the  stretched  trusses  of  Sandy's  breeches 
with  a  noise  like  the  breaking  of  an  egg  upon  a  wall. 

Sandy  snatched  his  head  from  the  snow  swift  as  a 
blade  that  bends  itself  to  the  straight,  and  stood  erect. 
There  was  no  one  in  sight  save  little  Davie,  who  danced 
at  a  distance  and  laughed  innocently  at  the  jest.  For 
James,  the  doer  of  it,  had  instantly  dropped  into  a  deep 
snow  passage.  Whereat  Sandy,  cured  as  to  his  head  but 
villanously  stung  in  the  breech,  turned  him  about  in 
fierce  anger,  seeking  for  some  one  to  truncheon.  The 
lad  Davie's  laugh  annoyed  him,  and  Sandy,  being  an 
adept  at  the  palm -play,  sent  a  snow-ball  at  his  young 
brother,  which  took  him  smartly  upon  the  cheek. 

Instantly  Davie,  poor  callant,  set  up  a  cry  of  pain, 
which  brought  his  sister  Nell  upon  the  scene  with  all 
the  furies  in  the  tangle  of  her  hair. 

"  Ye  muckle,  good-for-nothing  calves  !"  she  cried,  ad- 


THE    CORBIES    AT   THE    EAGLE'S    NEST  143 

dressing  both  her  unseen  brothers,  whom  she  well  knew 
to  be  lying  hidden  somewhere  among  the  snow  passages 
of  the  courtyard,  ' '  I  will  bring  Launce  Kennedy  to  you 
with  a  knotty  stick,  and  that  by  my  father's  orders — 
clodding  at  a  bairn  that  gate,  and  garring  him  greet.  Ye 
think  I  canna  see  ye,  but  if  ye  dinna  come  oot  decently, 
I  will  come  and  bring  ye.  Ye  may  think  black  shame  o' 
yoursel's  !'"' 

And  this  I  do  not  doubt  that  James  and  Sandy  did.  For 
to  be  flyted  upon  by  a  lass,  lying  prone  the  while  upon 
one's  stomach  in  a  snow-bank,  does  not  make  for  self- 
respect.  So  both  the  lads  began  to  crawl  away  as  best 
they  might  from  Nell's  dangerous  neighborhood.  It 
Jumped  greatly  with  my  humor  to  watch  them  from  the 
upper  window  of  the  armory  which  looked  abroad  over 
the  court.  All  unwitting  they  approached  the  one  to 
the  other  with  their  heads  down,  and  at  the  corner,  each 
running  with  full  speed  upon  his  hands  and  knees,  they 
knocked  their  skulls  together  soundly  with  a  well-resound- 
ing crack  which  pleased  me.  Instantly  they  clinched 
and  fought  like  wild-cats — biting  and  fisting  in  the  snow 
— till  their  father,  attracted  from  the  hall  by  the  noise, 
came  down  and  laid  upon  them  both  right  soundly  with 
the  great  whip  wherewith  the  dogs  were  beaten  when 
they  were  trained  for  hunting. 

All  this  was  excellent  sport  to  me,  but  the  best  was  yet 
to  come.  In  a  little  thereafter  I  saw  Nell,  who  was  a 
merry  lass  when  there  was  nothing  upon  her  mind,  come 
quietly  out  of  the  side  door  that  led  to  the  kitchen  places, 
with  David  in  her  hand.  She  set  him  within  a  small 
flanking  tower,  which  in  old  days  had  been  loop-holed 
for  arrows.  Then  she  locked  the  door  upon  him,  taking 
the  key  with  her.  Before  she  went  she  handed  the  boy 
two  or  three  snow-balls  made  from  the  wet,  slushy  snow, 
where  the  sunshine  had  caused  some  drops  to  melt  off 
the  roof  and  fall  from  the  eaves. 


144  THE   GEAY   MAN 

Thus  she  went  to  the  corner,  I  watching  with  joy  the 
while  from  the  window  of  the  armory. 

"Jamie!  Sandy!"  she  cried,  "come  hither,  lads. 
There's  something  here  for  your  private  ear !" 

At  first  the  hoys  Avould  not  move,  still  smarting  and 
sulky  from  their  father's  training-whip.  But  in  a  little 
they  came,  and  Nell  enticed  them  with  the  repeated 
promise  of  "something  for  their  private  ear"  (the  art- 
ful minx !)  till  she  had  them  exactly  opposite  the  little 
window  where  David  was  posted  with  his  weapons  of 
offence. 

Suddenly  from  the  arrow-slot  there  came  a  discharge 
of  artillery.  The  providence  that  helps  the  weak  put 
pith  and  fusion  into  little  David's  arm.  As  though  it 
had  been  the  smooth  stone  of  the  brook  that  sped  whiz- 
zing to  the  brazen  front  of  Goliath,  the  first  moist  shot 
of  David's  ordnance  plumped  with  a  splash  into  the  ear 
of  Sandy.  In  an  instant  I  lay  upon  the  floor  in  the 
laughter  which  comes  only  from  beholding  silly  things. 
For  there  below  me  were  James  and  Sandy  Kennedy, 
each  dancing  upon  the  point  of  their  shoon,  and  with 
their  little  fingers  digging  in  their  several  ears  to  exca- 
vate from  thence  the  well  -  compacted  slush  wherewith 
little  David  had  taken  his  fitting  revenge. 

Nor  was  the  occupation  made  easier  for  them  by  the 
vexatious  commentaries  of  their  sister  Nell,  who  repeated 
over  and  over  again  to  them,  between  her  bursts  of  laugh- 
ter, "Did  I  not  tell  you  that  if  ye  came  to  the  corner  of 
the  tower  ye  would  get  something  for  your  private  ear  ? 
This  will  learn  you  to  let  wee  Davie  alane  !" 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

bairns'  play 

There  remains  yet  one  other  of  their  pranks  to  be 
told,  and  that  only  because  it  is  knit  into  the  story,  and 
so  must  be  unravelled  along  with  it. 

The  pair  of  elders,  after  this  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Nell 
and  little  David,  took  counsel  together,  and  might  sooner 
have  hit  upon  something  to  their  mind  but  that  James, 
as  was  usual  with  him,  stood  in  an  attitude  of  cogitation, 
having  his  mouth  very  wide  open.  Whereat  Sandy,  whose 
wits  were  brighter,  could  not,  even  for  the  sake  of  the 
alliance  between  them,  refrain  from  dropping  therein  a 
snow-ball  which  he  had  ready  in  his  hand  for  any  purpose 
that  might  arise.  This  he  did  with  the  same  neatness 
and  adroitness  with  which  he  would  have  dropped  a  ball 
of  worsct  yarn,  when  the  caps  were  on  the  green  for  the 
game  royal  of  Bonnet-Ba'. 

It  took  some  time  and  a  mighty  deal  of  struggling  on 
the  ground  before  this  treachery  between  friends  could 
bo  arranged.  Also  much  thrusting  of  snow  down  the 
backs  of  doublets  and  holding  it  there  till  it  melted — to- 
gether with  other  still  more  unseemly  and  uncomfortable 
proceedings. 

Then  the  reconciled  allies  entered  the  castle  together, 
promising  peace,  and  fell  into  talk  with  young  Davie,  who 
stood  within  the  great  door  in  the  inviolate  safety  of  the 
hall. 

"Do  you  want  a  merk  ?"  said  Sandy,  tempting  him 
with  the  sight  of  one,  which  at  that  day  was  great  wealth. 

10 


146  THE    GEAY    MAN 

"It  will  buy  store  of  peaches  and  pears  and  baked  ap- 
ples at  Baillie  Underwood's  in  the  High  Street,  preserved 
cherries  also,  and  marmalit  of  plnms." 

Then  said  Davie:  "A  merk  I  w^ant,  indeed,  as  does  ev- 
ery one,  but  you  are  not  the  fellow  to  give  it  me.  There- 
fore quit  your  pother,  for  I  know  that  you  would  only 
make  friends  to  get  me  apart,  and  so  work  mischief  upon 
me." 

A  wise  boy  David. 

"As  I  live  I  lie  not,"  said  Sandy,  taking  a  great  oath. 
"  I  will  give  you  the  merk  if  ye  go  down  after  dark  to 
the  barn,  and,  passing  through  the  great  door  to  the  lesser 
door  at  the  back,  shut  and  bolt  it  with  its  bar  of  oak,  and 
so  return  the  way  ye  went.  If  ye  do  this,  sure  as  death 
I  lie  not,  I  will  give  you  the  merk," 

Little  David,  who  had  ofttimes  been  deceived  of  his 
brothers,  considered  upon  the  offer  a  Avhile,  and  at  last 
he  said  to  Sandy  : 

"  As  sure  as  death  ye  might  lie,  though  twice  ye  have 
said  it ;  but  give  the  merk  into  the  keeping  of  Launce 
Kennedy,  that  will  not  tell  lies — at  least,  not  for  such 
fi-eits — and  then  I  will  take  your  dare,  and  go  shut  the 
farther  door  of  the  barn." 

They  came  up,  therefore,  to  me  to  the  armory — James, 
Sandy,  and  David  all  together  ;  and  as  soon  as  I  heard 
them  coming  I  went  from  the  window  and  sat  by  the  fire, 
that  they  might  not  suspect  I  had  observed  aught  of  their 
matters.  Then,  when  they  revealed  the  plot  to  me,  I 
bade  Sandy  be  careful  what  he  did,  for  it  was  growing 
dark,  and  I  misdoubted  that  they  meant  to  fright  the 
child.  So  I  feared  them  with  the  threat  of  their  father, 
and  as  little  David  lingered  while  his  brothers  went  lum- 
bering and  shouting  down  the  armory  stair  I  put  into 
his  hand  a  short  blackthorn  cudgel  which  the  young 
Sheriff  of  Galloway  had  brought  with  him  over  from 
Ireland. 


bairns'  play  147 

'^If  ye  see  anything  more  than  common,  hit  it  as  hard 
as  ye  can  with  that,"  I  bade  liim. 

And  so  little  David  passed  out.  I  could  not  see  him 
far  across  the  yard  because  of  the  fall  of  the  gloaming, 
but  on  his  return,  all  a-drip  of  sweat  and  in  a  quivering 
tremble  of  agony,  he  told  me  what  had  befallen  him. 

**It  was  bitter  cold,"  he  said,  "and  I  will  not  say  that 
I  was  not  feared,  for  I  was.  Yet,  so  long  as  the  door 
stood  ajar,  there  came  a  ray  of  light  through  it,  and  my 
heart  was  clieered.  But  presently  it  was  shut  to,  and  I 
had  all  the  way  to  go  alone. 

"  But  I  heard  the  cows  in  the  byre  rattling  at  their 
hemps  through  the  rings,  and,  as  I  kenned,  pulling  at  the 
meadow  hay  in  their  stalls.  And  that  at  least  was  some 
company.  So  I  went  on,  and  the  frosty  snow  squeaked 
under  my  feet.  I  came  to  the  great  door  of  the  barn.  It 
stood  open,  vast  and  terrible  as  the  mouth  of  a  giant's 
cave.  But  I  thought  of  the  marmalit  of  plums,  and  in  I 
went  with  my  heart  gulp-gulping  high  in  my  throat." 

I  nodded  at  the  little  fellow,  for  many  a  time  had  I  felt 
the  same,  and  said  nothing  about  it — Avhen  I  was  much 
younger,  of  course. 

"  So,"  said  he,  "  I  went  through  the  barn  in  which  was 
such  hay  and  straw  till  I  came  to  the  midst  of  it.  Here 
I  stopped  to  listen,  for  I  could  hear  a  noise — indeed,  many 
noises.  However,  it  was  only  the  black  rattons  firsling 
among  the  straw.  I  felt  a  thousand  miles  away  from 
home,  an  orphan,  and  very  lonely — nor  did  thinking  on 
marmalit  of  plums  now  bring  comfort  —  at  least,  none 
to  speak  of. 

"But,  nevertheless,  because  I  thought  of  the  taunting 
and  japing  of  James  and  Sandy,  I  took  my  way  to  the 
farther  door  that  looketh  upon  the  old  orchard.  The 
black  corn-stacks  shut  out  many  of  the  stars,  but  those 
that  were  left  tingled  and  shone  cold.  I  thought  I  had 
no  friend  nearer  than  one  of  these.    I  was  much  afraid. 


148  THE    GRAY    MAN" 

"  Yet  nevertheless  I  shut  the  back  door  and  barred  it — 
barred  it  good  and  strong  with  both  bolts,  and  set  a  corn- 
measure  at  the  back  for  luck.  This  being  done,  I  turned 
and  took  but  one  step  towards  the  great  door,  through 
which  I  could  see  the  snow  shining  like  a  mist.  Then 
my  heart  stopped,  and  I  tried  to  cry  out  very  loud,  but, 
alas  !  I  could  not  cry  out  at  all. 

"For  there  was  Something  in  the  doorway.  I  could 
see  it  against  the  snow.  Something  that  crawled  on  the 
ground  with  dull,  horrid  eyes,  set  wide  apart,  and  that 
turned  a  shapeless,  horned  head  slowly  from  side  to  side, 
moaning  and  yammering  the  while. 

"  I  thought  I  should  die.  Then  I  feared  that  I  should 
not  die  before  the  thing  took  me,  for  it  slowly  invaded 
the  barn  till  it  filled  all  the  doorway.  By  this  I  knew  that 
I  should  indeed  be  devoured.  Nevertheless,  I  minded 
what  it  was  you  said  before  I  went.  So  I  thought  that, 
having  a  stout  stick  in  my  hand,  I  might  as  well  die  after 
having  smitten  a  good  stroke  as  not — " 

"Bravo,  young  David  !"  cried  I;  "that  is  the  right 
spirit  of  battle." 

"  So  I  took  the  blackthorn  in  both  hands,"  he  Avent 
on,  "and  swung  it  about  my  head,  as  you  showed  me  in 
the  bagging  down  of  trees.  With  that  I  struck  the  hor- 
rible thing  fairly  between  the  eyes.  Then  leaping  over 
it  I  ran,  how  I  know  not,  for  the  house  door,  where 
I  laughed  and  wej)t  time  about  till  Nell  brought  me 
here  that  you  might  bid  me  stop.  Now  I  want  the 
merk." 

So  I  gave  him  the  merk,  took  down  the  dog -whip 
from  the  nail  where  it  hung,  and  went  out  to  look  for 
Jamie  and  Sandy — for  well  I  knew  that  this  had  been 
one  of  their  tricks  to  frighten  the  boy,  and  I  was  re- 
solved that  they  should  take  a  thrashing,  either  from  me 
or,  what  they  would  less  desire,  from  their  father — who, 
though  a  kind  enough  man  till  he  began  to  lay  on,  was 


BAIRNS     PLAY  149 

apt  to  be  carried  away  with  the  exercise,  and  to  forget 
bowels  of  mercy. 

But  when  I  got  upon  the  snow  by  the  door  Sandy 
came  running  to  me,  fairly  crying  out  with  terror.  He 
had  the  hide  of  a  muckle  bullock,  which  had  been  killed 
that  day,  trailing  from  his  waist.  His  face,  in  the  light 
that  fell  from  the  lamp  in  the  hall,  was  a  sight  to  be 
seen.  There  was  a  lump  on  his  brow,  between  the  eyes, 
as  large  (to  a  nearness)  as  a  hen's  egg.  All  his  face  was 
a-lapper  with  blood,  so  that  for  the  moment  I  thought 
that  the  lad  had  really  been  killed.  But  Avhen  I  pulled 
him  up  to  the  armory  and  got  him  washed  I  found 
that  the  blood  was  only  that  of  the  bullock,  whose  hide 
he  had  wrapped  about  him  in  order  that  he  might  crawl 
on  the  ground  and  fright  his  brother  David. 

And  I  had  there  and  then  taken  him  to  task  with  the 
dog-whip  (for  indeed  he  might  have  bereft  the  child  of 
reason),  but  the  sight  of  his  own  wordless  terror  smote 
upon  me,  so  that  I  desisted — for  that  time  at  least. 

For  a  while  Sandy  could  not  speak  by  reason  of  the 
fear  which  blanched  his  face,  and  caused  him  to  hold  by 
my  coat  even  when  I  went  across  the  room.  At  last, 
however,  he  found  tongue. 

"There  is  a  man,"  he  stammered — "a  man  with  a 
drawn  sword — standing  at  the  barn  end  in  a  gray  cloak, 
and  a  wild  beast  crouching  beside  him  !" 

"  Barley-break,  flim-flam,"  said  I,  for  I  believed  not  a 
word  of  it;  "your  head  is  muzzy  with  your  carrying  the 
bullock's  head  and  horns,  and  served  you  right  had  David 
given  you  a  warble  on  it  twice  as  big  !" 

"No,"  gasped  Sandy,  "it  is  not  fantasy.  I  saw  the 
man  clearly.  He  stood  against  the  sky  in  a  gray  cloak, 
and  the  beast  crouched  and  held  a  lanthorn  by  him. 
Oh,  Launce,  I  fear  I  have  seen  the  Black  Man  and  that 
I  shall  die  !" 

"Seen  your  granny's  hippen-clouts  !"  said  I,  roughly, 


150  THE    GRAY    MAN 

for  I  was  angry  at  his  senselessness.  "Lay  raw  beef  to 
your  beauty-spot,  my  man,  sleep Jiere  with  me,  and  I 
will  forgive  you  the  licking  with  the  dog-whip." 

So  by  little  and  little  I  got  Sandy  soothed  down  till 
he  went  to  sleep  on  my  bed,  moaning  and  tossing  the 
while.  Then  I  set  me  down  to  think,  alone,  on  the 
window-sill  above  the  courtyard,  for  I  had  long  since 
handed  David  over  to  the  care  of  Nell.  Sometimes  for 
convenience  I  slejit  in  the  armory,  for  Sir  Thomas  had 
trusted  me  with  everything  since  I  had  proved  myself  in 
the  wars. 

I  saw  well  that  evil  was  somehow  intended  against 
the  house  of  Culzean,  and  that  something  terrible  walked 
in  darkness.  I  resolved  that  I  should  find  out  what  it 
was  or  die.  Yet  I  liked  not  stealthy  adventure  so  much 
as  plain  cut  and  thrust,  and  wished  that  I  had  had  Rob- 
ert Harburgh  with  me.  But  I  knew  that,  though  brave 
as  a  lion,  he  somewhat  lacked  discretion,  and  so  might 
spoil  all.  There  was  nothing  for  it,  therefore,  but  to  go 
out  alone. 


"thp:hr  was   nothing   for   it,  therefore,  but  to  go  out 

ALONE  " 


CHAPTER  XIX 
FIGHTING    THE    BEASTS 

Having  shut  and  locked  the  armory  door  behind  me, 
I  stood  a  great  while  very  still  on  the  steps  in  the  black 
shadow  ;  for  nothing  conld  I  see,  though  I  looked  till  my 
eyes  ached.  So  I  set  out  with  my  sword  bare  in  my  hand, 
and  my  left  hand  hafting  an  easily  drawn  dagger.  I  de- 
clare if  I  had  only  known  for  certain  that  the  thing  which 
troubled  the  house  was  naught  but  flesh  and  blood,  I  had 
not  cared  the  tickling  of  a  Flemish  poulet.  For  I  was 
growing  to  rejoice  in  adventure,  believing  that  my  own 
luck  was  to  win  through  in  safety  whatever  might  befall 
to  others.  Indeed.  I  never  loved  a  leg-lagging,  grease- 
collecting  life,  like  that  of  a  burgher  or  a  cellarer.  But 
rather  to  strip  and  lay  on  till  the  arm  dirls  with  striking 
— that  is,  in  a  just  cause,  of  course.  Although  some- 
times, if  your  chief  so  command,  one  must  strike  without 
inquiring  with  too  queasy  a  conscience,  like  a  mere  yea- 
forsoothing  knave,  what  may  be  the  cause  for  which  ye 
are  set  to  drive  the  steel.  For  it  is  soldierly  to  strike 
first  and  inquire  the  cause  after — that  is,  if  the  man  live. 

But  1  ride  the  wild  mare  whenever  I  lay  the  reins  on 
the  neck  of  my  goose-quill.  And  since  I  love  to  keep  the 
pages  even  and  the  lines  straight,  anything  that  will  serve 
to  fill  up  the  tale  of  my  day's  doing  goes  down.  But 
pleasant  writing  maketh  not  always  good  or  full-mattered 
reading. 

I  stood  therefore  awhile  outside  the  armory  door,  and 
saw  only  the  drifted  snow  and  the  line  of  white  roofs 


152  THE    GRAY    MAIST 

against  a  dark  sky.  So,  having  little  hope  of  discovery 
by  waiting  like  a  dancer  ontside  a  ring,  I  stepped  lightly 
down,  being  shod  iii  soft  double  hosen  without  leathern 
slioon,  so  that  my  feet  made  no  noise  on  the  frosty  snow. 
About  the  house  I  stole,  gliding  from  shelter  to  shelter 
till  I  came  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  where  I  could  hear 
but  not  see  the  breaker  waves  crisping  and  clapping  upon 
the  shore.  At  such  a  time  the  sea  is  black.  But  so 
much  blacker  was  the  night  that  I  saw  it  not  even  when 
I  looked  straight  down  ujDon  it. 

Turning,  I  made  the  circuit  of  the  castle,  but  still 
found  nothing.  Then  I  minded  me  how  it  was  by  the 
barn  that  Sandy  had  seen  the  vision  which  had  affrighted 
him.  So  I  set  teeth  and  gripped  blade  tighter,  and  took 
my  way  to  the  barn  door.  It  stood  wide  and  vacant, 
gaping  at  me  like  an  open  sepulchre. 

I  will  admit  that  it  required  all  my  courage  boldly  to 
go  in,  for  it  is  hard  to  enter  that  which  is  the  blackness 
of  darkness  to  you,  with  the  knowledge  that  all  the  while 
you  stand  the  fairest  of  targets  in  the  doorway.  But  be- 
cause, as  my  father  had  told  me,  it  is  ever  better  to  pur- 
sue than  to  flee,  I  stepped  within  with  elbow  crooked  for 
the  thrust,  and  dagger-arm  cleared  of  the  cloak. 

But  it  was  as  silent  in  the  barn  as  elsewhere.  I  did  not 
even  hear  the  rats  of  which  my  little  David  had  spoken. 
I  began  to  think  that  I  had  been  as  needlessly  and  as 
childlessly  alarmed  as  he.  Then  all  at  once  and  quite 
clearly  I  heard  voices  speaking  together  at  the  outer  cor- 
ner of  the  granary. 

So  I  went  near  to  a  convenient  wicket  that  I  might 
listen,  and  my  very  heart  and  life  chilled  and  thickened, 
because  that  the  voices  were  those  of  our  Marjorie  and 
some  one  else  who  spoke  low  and  sober — not  quick  and 
high  like  Gilbert  Kennedy. 

Then  was  my  heart  full  of  disgust  that  I  should  find 
her  whom  I  had  loved  and  worshijDped  engaging  in  an- 


FIGHTINa  THE   BEASTS  153 

other  midnight  tryst,  and  one  that  might  be  no  better 
than  a  paltry  intrigue. 

So  angered  was  I  that  I  stole  to  the  door,  meaning  to 
break  out  upon  them  in  violent  speech,  caring  little  in 
mine  anger  what  should  happen.  But  as  I  came  to  the 
edge  of  the  hard-beaten  threshing-floor  Marjorie  Ken- 
nedy came  to  the  door  swiftly.  Turning  in  front  of  the 
barn,  and  standing  with  the  shawl  thrown  back  from  her 
head,  she  spoke  to  the  man  she  had  left,  whom  as  yet  I 
saw  not. 

"  Remember,"  she  said,  "  I  promise  no  more  than  the 
bare  fact.  I  tell  you  I  choose  the  grave  before  a  bride- 
bed,  the  worm  before  such  a  husband  !" 

But  the  man  to  whom  she  spoke  uttered  no  word, 
though  he  had  come  nearer  to  where  in  the  dusk  of  the 
doorway  I  stood  with  my  SAVord  bare  in  my  hand.  I  could 
see  him  plainly  now  —  all  but  his  face,  for  the  tide  of 
darkness  was  on  the  ebb.  He  was  the  tall,  cloaked  man 
whom  we  knew  as  the  Gray  Man. 

Behind  him,  at  the  angle  of  the  wall,  crouched  a  black 
mass,  which  yet  was  human,  because,  even  as  I  looked,  it 
took  something  from  under  a  coat,  and  rose  erect  beside 
the  Gray  Man.  As  Marjorie  vanished  these  two  figures 
moved  towards  my  hiding-place  in  the  barn.  I  had  no 
.time  to  do  more  than  glide  within,  pull  a  sheaf  or  two 
from  the  mow,  and  thrust  myself,  like  a  sword  into  its 
scabbard,  within  the  hole  I  had  made  amid  the  piled  grain. 

Even  as  I  looked  their  dark  figures  filled  up  the  square 
of  grayness  which  the  open  barn  door  made  against  the 
snow.  I  saw  them  enter,  feeling  with  their  hands,  as 
though  to  grasp  something,  yet  not  making  any  light  to 
guide  them  in  finding  it. 

Then  indeed  I  was  disquieted,  and  my  very  bones  be- 
came as  water  within  me.  For  if  there  is  anything  trying 
to  the  flesh  of  mortal  man  it  is  to  lie  still  and  be  groped 
for  in  the  dark  by  unknown  and  horrible  enemies.     I  had 


154  THE   GKAY    MAN 

a  nightmare  sense  of  powerlessness  to  move,  of  impotence 
in  the  face  of  peril.  I  knew  that  when  the  blind,  groping, 
inhuman  horror  took  me  by  the  throat  I  should  not  be 
able  even  to  cry  out.  It  was  like  a  dream  of  fever  made 
real. 

A  moment  after  I  heard  a  man's  voice  speak  in  a  fierce 
whisper. 

"Ah,  here  it  is !     Give  me  your  hand,  and  put  strength 
to  it." 

.  Then  in  a  moment,  like  the  breaking  of  a  dam,  the  fear 
quite  went  from  me.  They  were  but  common-place  rob- 
bers after  all,  and  I  a  craven  and  a  coward  to  lie  still  while 
my  master's  goods  were  being  stolen  before  my  eyes. 

I  leaped  out  upon  them  without  waiting  to  think,  for  I 
was  not  feared  of  a  dozen  such. 

"Hold  !"  I  cried.  "Stand  for  your  lives,  gutter-thieves, 
or  I  will  run  you  through  !" 

I  stood  in  the  doorway  with  my  sword  and  dagger  in 
hand,  and  as  soon  as  I  felt  one  come  against  the  point  of 
my  blade  I  let  him  have  it  with  all  my  might,  for  it  Avas 
not  a  time  for  half-measures.  Then,  though  I  heard  the 
answering  cry  of  wounding,  there  was  no  time  for  further 
action,  for  something  came  at  me  with  a  rush  like  a  wild 
beast  of  the  wood  and  the  snarl  of  the  springing  heather 
cat.  Now  there  are  many  things  that  a  lad  of  eighteen  or  « 
nineteen  may  do — things  of  worth  and  daring — but  he 
cannot  stand  against  the  weight  of  a  strong  and  well-grown 
man  when  he  leaps  upon  him.  Therefore  I  cannot  count 
it  to  my  shame  that  now  I  was  overcome  and  overborne. 
Once  and  again  was  I  smitten,  till  I  felt  the  iron,  as  it  had 
been  fire,  strike  me  here  and  there.  And  though  I  felt 
no  pain,  there  was  something  warm,  which  I  divined  to 
be  my  own  blood,  running  down.     Then  I  knew  no  more. 

When  I  awoke  I  was  in  the  Grieve's  house,  lying  on  a 
bed.  Sir  Thomas  Kennedy,  my  master,  and  the  Earl 
himself  were  bending  over  me.     They  had  unclasped  my 


FIGHTING   THE    BEASTS  155 

hand,  and  now  stood  back  in  wonderment  at  what  they 
found  gripped  in  it. 

"  It  is  the  key  of  the  treasure-chest  of  Kelwood — the 
key  with  my  father's,  the  King  of  Carrick's,  seal  graven' 
upon  it !     Where  could  the  lad  have  gotten  it  ?" 

Yet  of  a  certainty  they  had  taken  it  out  of  my  tight- 
ly clinched  hand,  which  had  been  fixed  upon  sometliing 
ever  since  they  found  me  on  the  barn  threshing-floor, 
where  I  lay  senseless  in  a  pool  of  my  own  blood. 


CHAPTEE  XX 
THE   SECRET   OF   THE    CAIRD 

It  was,  I  can  avoucli,  a  strange  experience  for  me  to 
lie  on  my  back  in  the  Grieve's  house  all  through  the 
long  days  of  spring  and  summer.  Kate  Allison  and  her 
mother  were  tirelessly  kind.  The  Grieve  himself  gener- 
ally set  his  head  past  the  door  as  he  went  and  came 
from  his  meals,  crying  mayhap  something  of  the  day — 
that  "it  was  warm,"  or  that  it  was  "a  wat  yin,"  and 
thinking  it  the  height  of  a  jest  to  say  to  me,  "An'  what 
kind  o'  weather  hae  ye  below  the  blankets  ?"  For  with 
kindly  natured  country  folk  a  little  jest  goes  a  great 
way,  and  serveth  as  long  without  washing  as  a  pair  of 
English  blankets. 

Then  in  the  forenoon  Sir  Thomas  would  come  in  from 
the  castle,  opening  the  hallan  door  and  walking  across 
the  Grieve's  kitchen  as  unceremoniously  as  he  would 
have  done  in  his  own  house. 

"My  lad,  they  have  made  a  hand  of  you,  but  we  will 
dowse  them  yet  for  that !"  was  one  of  his  stated  encour- 
agements to  me.  "Let  me  see  the  clours — hoot,  man, 
they  will  never  mar  you  on  your  marriage  day  !" 

And  so,  kindly  and  smiling,  he  would  pass  out  again, 
walking  with  his  hands  behind  his  back  as  far  as  I  could 
see  him  along  the  arches  of  the  woodland. 

Then  would  Marjorie  come  to  the  door,  and  inquire 
for  me  of  good  Mistress  Allison.  But  she  never  accepted 
of  her  hearty  invite  to  remain — or,  at  least,  to  enter  and 
see  the  invalid.     Gently  would  she  ask  after  my  well- 


THE    SECRET   OF   THE    CAIRD  157 

being,  and,  being  assured  of  it,  as  gently  would  she  go 
her  way — her  fair  face  looking  so  white  and  sorrowful  the 
while  that  I  was  wae  for  her,  and  for  the  unkenned  se- 
crets of  her  heart,  into  Avhicli  God  forbid  that  I  should  pry. 

But  that  which  cheered  me  most,  I  think,  was  the 
kindness  and  warm  -  heartedness  showed  me  without 
stint  both  by  Nell  Kennedy  and  Kate  Allison.  They 
were  no  longer  flighty  and  sharp  of  tongue  in  speaking 
to  me,  but  rather  spoke  freely,  and  sat  much  in  the 
kitchen,  with  the  door  of  my  room  open  so  that  I  could 
see  them,  nipping  and  scarting  at  one  another  like  kit- 
tens in  their  wantonness,  which  was  a  great  diversion 
and  encouragement  to  me  on  my  weary  bed.  And  there 
we  had  no  little  merriment,  for  Nell  Kennedy  would  be 
saucy  and  miscall  me  for  my  laziness  and  sloth  —  also 
for  my  lack  of  appetite,  which  she  called  "dainty  and 
dorty,"  meaning  thereby  that  I  wanted  finer  meats  than 
they  had  to  give  me. 

Also,  though  she  was  no  maid  for  gossip,  Nell  would 
bring  me  all  the  clash  of  the  castle-town  and  farm-town, 
all  the  talk  that  was  gone  over  in  the  mill,  while  the 
thirlage  men  waited  for  their  grist.  Where  she  got  it  to 
tell  me  I  cannot  imagine,  but  it  was  all  like  sweet  wine 
to  me  that  could  hear  naught  most  of  the  day  and  night 
but  the  birds  singing  without  and  Mistress  Allison  clatter- 
ing wooden  platters  within. 

Also  (and  that  was  the  kindliest  thing  she  could  have 
done,  and  touched  my  heart  most  of  all),  she  brought  to 
me  all  my  war-harness  and  accoutrements — my  sword, 
which  she  had  cleaned  herself  after  the  scuffle  in  the 
barn ;  the  dagger  I  had  dropped  when  I  caught  and 
clutched  the  key  of  the  Kelwood  treasure,  wherever  that 
had  been  gotten  ;  the  pistols ;  the  fine  new  hackbutt 
which  had  just  come  from  the  town  of  Ayr,  and  which 
Sir  Thomas  had  given  me  for  mine  own,  as  he  would 
have  given  a  child  a  toy. 


158  THE    GKAY    MAN 

"'Give  the  bairn  its  plaiks,  then/' said  Nell,  as  she 
laid  them  on  the  bed.  "Would  it  love  to  play  with 
them  ?     Then  it  shall  !" 

She  spoke  in  an  enticing  and  babyish  way  that  diverted 
me,  and  warmed  me  too,  when  I  thought  she  had  so 
much  kindliness  for  me. 

So  I  said,  "It  is  monstrously  well  done  of  you  thus  to 
divert  me." 

"Hoots,"  she  said;  "see  what  else  I  have  brought 
you !" 

And  with  that  she  took  from  her  pocket  all  the  ap- 
paratus of  cleaning  my  pieces  and  sword,  besides  the 
links  and  buckles  of  Dom  Nicholas's  harness  and  equip- 
ment, the  sight  of  which  put  me  in  a  fever  to  see  him 
again.  Never  was  anything  kindlier  done.  Also,  she 
brought  me  from  her  father's  scanty  library  such  books 
as  she  thought  I  might  care  to  read  ;  though,  indeed,  I 
read  but  little,  never  having  been  greatly  given  to  lear — 
save,  as  it  might  be,  books  of  sojigs,  troll-catches,  wits' 
recreations,  and  such  like. 

But  among  others  she  brought  me  a  French  manual  of 
fence,  which  gave  me  infinite  pleasure.  For  with  her 
help  I  could  sj^ell  out  the  instructions,  and  the  plates  of 
positions  I  was  fain  to  imitate  with  my  two  rapiers,  till  I 
had  hacked  and  scarred  all  the  four  posts  of  the  bed 
most  grievously.  And  Mistress  Allison  declared  that  it 
was  not  safe  for  any  one  to  come  within  the  outer  door. 

But  one  day  my  bed-fast  practice-at-arms  stood  mine 
hostess  in  good  stead,  for  which  afterwards  she  gave  me 
full  thankfulness.  It  chanced  on  a  certain  noontide  of 
heat  that  all  were  at  the  hayfield.  Even  Kate  and  Nell 
had  gone  to  toss  the  hay,  which  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  do 
in  good  company,  but,  i'  faith,  ill  enough  to  think  on  as 
I  lay  tossing  my  weary  body,  and  cursing  the  luck  that 
tied  me  here  in  a  dnll  room  —  vexed  with  heat,  the 
weight  of  bedclothing,  and  the  broad  buzzing  flies  which 


THE    SECRET   OF   THE    CAIRD  159 

would  light  on  the  corner  of  one's  nose  each  time  that 
sleep  was  on  the  verge  of  flapping  down  silently  with  his 
black  wings  to  bring  a  welcome  shortening  of  the  weary 
hours.  Mistress  Allison  stole  about  the  kitchen  on  bare, 
broad  feet,  flapping  and  slapping  the  flags  with  them  as 
she  carried  her  cakes  to  the  girdle-plate,  or  swung  it 
from  the  cleek  above  the  clear  baking  fire  of  brown  peats. 
She  thought  me  asleep,  for  I  had  cleaned  all  my  arms  till 
I  could  see  myself  sitting  up  in  bed,  with  my  pale  face 
and  towsed  haystack  of  a  head,  in  every  square  inch  of 
them. 

Kate  had  brought  me  that  day  a  book  called  The 
Whole  Duty  of  Pilgrims;  but  finding  it  full  of  religious 
reflections,  and  not  tales  of  the  Crusaders  as  I  had  hoped, 
I  laid  it  aside  for  the  Sabbath  day,  as  being  more  reverent 
and  fitting. 

All  at  once  the  outer  door  of  the  Grieve's  house  was 
thrown  back  on  its  hinges,  and  a  great  sturdy  caird  en- 
tered— mayhap  an  Egyptian  sorner,  or  bold  robber,  such 
as  were  vexing  the  realm  at  the  time,  or  perhaps  only  a 
common  muddy  rascal  of  the  road. 

"  Mistress,  I  bid  you  good-day,"  he  said.  "  I  am  hun- 
gry, and  would  have  meat !" 

Plain  and  quite  short  he  said  it— even  as  I  have  writ- 
ten it  down. 

"In  this  Grieve's  house  of  Culzean  even  gentry  folk 
say  '  An  it  please  you,'  and  '  By  your  leave  !' "  replied, 
with  some  indignation,  the  mistress  of  the  dwelling. 

"  But  then  I  will  e'en  help  myself,  without  please  or 
leave  either!"  cried  the  villain.  And  with  that  he  opened 
a  leathern  wallet  that  he  had  slung  over  his  shoulder, 
and  began  to  thrust  therein  not  only  the  scones,  but 
anything  about  the  dresser  and  tables  that  his  thievish 
fancy  lit  upon. 

"Now,  mistress,"  said  he,  "let  mc  have  any  siller 
you  have  in  the  house,  and  a  well-pleased  kiss  of  your 


160  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

weel-faured  moo'  therewith,  or  else  I  must  do  my  needs 
with  yon  I" 

And  with  that  he  opened  a  great  gully  knife,  as  though 
he  would  run  at  her.  Mistress  Allison  cried  out  with  a 
strange  cry  of  woman's  fear,  which  1  who  had  been  in 
battle  never  heard  the  like  of  before.  Just  at  this  mo- 
ment I  pushed  the  bedroom  door  open  with  the  point  of 
my  toe,  and  sat  there  looking  straight  at  the  man,  with  a 
pistol  bended  in  each  hand,  and  both  of  them  trained 
point-blank  on  the  rascal's  heart. 

I  make  bold  to  say  that  in  all  this  realm  of  Scotland 
there  was  not  any  man  so  exceedingly  astonished  as  this 
particular  sturdy  thief  at  that  moment. 

'^Drop  the  knife,  sirrah  !"  I  commanded,  as  one  that 
cries  his  orders  in  a  battle. 

x\nd  the  knife  rang  obediently  on  the  stone  floor. 

"  Kick  it  into  the  corner  with  your  foot — no,  not  with 
your  hand." 

And  reluctantly  he  kicked  the  knife  away  from  him. 

"  Now,  my  excellent  good  man,"  said  I,  "  sit  you  down 
and  put  your  hands  behind  you.  There  and  thus,  be 
still  where  you  are,  quite  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  and 
not  elsewhere." 

So  he  sat  him  down,  and,  keeping  my  pistols  dead  upon 
him,  I  bade  Mistress  Allison  tie  his  hands  firmly  with 
cord,  and  give  him  a  settle  to  lean  against.  Thereafter 
I  comforted  him  with  stern  philosophy. 

I  told  him  of  his  Avandering  and  uncertain  life.  I 
showed  him  conclusively  how  that  he  went  ever  in  danger 
of  the  hangman's  whip,  and  that  at  the  end  there  could 
only  be  awaiting  for  him  a  shameful  death.  I  told  him 
also  that  our  overlord  of  Culzean  had  the  power  of  pit 
and  gallows,  and  that,  on  the  return  of  the  haymakers, 
he  should  be  brought  out  —  when  in  an  hour  there 
would  be  an  end  of  all  his  misery  upon  the  dulc-trce,  or 
tree  of  execution,  which  stands  by  the  great  gate  and 


THE  SECRET  OF  THE   CAIRD  161 

bears  medlars  at  any  season,  but  only  for  an  hour  at  a 
time. 

"  'Tis  the  most  cruel  and  unjust  treatment  of  poor, 
beset,  far  wandering  men  !"  said  the  man  on  the  floor. 
They  were  the  first  words  he  had  spoken  since  he  threw 
down  his  knife.     I  wondered  he  could  speak  so  well. 

"  We  have  heard  no  complaints  so  far,"  I  made  answer, 
dryly,  for  the  man's  former  insolence  stuck  in  my  throat. 
And  in  especial  the  thought  of  what  might  have  hap- 
pened to  mine  hostess  or  the  maids,  had  I  not  been  there 
upon  the  bed  with  my  weapons  beside  me.  So  I  kept 
him  in  torment  of  mind  for  a  space. 

At  last,  as  the  afternoon  ebbed  away,  and  the  hour  of 
sundown  and  home-coming  wore  on,  his  anxiety  waxed 
pitiful.  He  turned  and  twisted  to  free  his  hands,  so  that 
the  only  way  I  could  quiet  him  was  to  lift  a  pistol  and 
point  it  at  him.  But  even  that  did  not  appear  to  soothe 
him  for  any  length  of  time. 

At  last  he  raised  his  head. 

"  Master,"  said  he,  sullenly,  but  speaking  not  that  ill, 
"ye  have  me,  I  grant,  in  the  cleaving  of  a  stick.  Now  I 
will  tell  you  a  thing  you  greatly  desire  to  know.  AVill  ye 
promise  to  let  me  go,  and  I  will  never  meddle  you  more?" 

"  I  do  not  mean  that  you  should,"  said  I ;  "  neverthe- 
less, what  is  the  thing  that  you  can  tell  me  ?  And  when 
I  know  I  shall  judge  its  worth— on  the  honor  of  a  gen- 
tleman." 

"1  can  tell  you,"  said  he,  "where  you  will  find  the 
treasure  of  Kelwood  !" 

"  AVhat  bald-crowned  blethers  !"  I  cried,  scornfully. 
"  Pray,  how  am  I  to  know  that  you  speak  the  truth  ? 
Ye  may  tell  me  that  it  is  with  the  gold  cup,  at  the  end 
of  the  rainbow  !" 

"It  is  true,"  said  the  man,  "I  might  lie  to  you  ;  but 
I  will  not,  for  I  need  my  life.     It  is  sweet  to  me  as  yours 

to  you." 
11 


162  THE  GEAY   MAN 

''  How  can  such  a  life  be  sweet  ?"  I  asked,  daffing  with 
the  man  in  my  power — which  was  "bad  form/'  as  John 
Mure  himself  sayeth  in  his  history  of  the  troubles. 

"It  is  not  a  time  to  argue/'  said  he,  "but  my  life  is 
as  pleasant  as  the  trees  that  toss  their  branches,  and  as 
the  free  life  of  the  forest." 

"Too  free  altogether,"  said  I,  "thus  to  come  in  and 
threaten  the  life  and  honor  of  a  decent  woman.  We  must 
have  such  freedom  trussed  and  stretched  on  a  tow  rope." 

"I  did  but  fright  her/'  said  he,  sullenly. 

"  That  is  as  may  be,"  replied  I,  keeping  my  pistol 
trained  for  his  left  eye-hole,  "and  in  any  case  it  will  be 
all  the  same  in  two  hours." 

"But,"  said  he,  "hear  me  concerning  the  treasure  of 
Kelwood.  Ye  have  conquered  the  key.  I  can  tell  you 
where  the  box  itself  is.  For  if  I  win  clear  this  time,  I 
must  escape  over  seas  from  the  vengeance  of  the  Gray 
Man." 

"But  you  may  lie  even  as  you  have  stolen,  and,  I  fear 
me,  murdered  also,  for  by  your  talk  you  are  one  of  a  mur- 
derous set." 

"Of  the  lying  you  must  e'en  take  your  chance — even 
as,  after  telling  you,  I  must  take  my  chance  of  your  cut- 
ting my  bonds  and  letting  me  go." 

"  You  have  a  gentleman's  Avord,"  I  answered  him. 

"  And  how  much  is  that  worth  in  Carrick  this  day," 
he  said,  harshly  and  bitterly,  "  even  with  a  bond  to  back 
it?" 

"  Mine,"  said  I,  with  what  dignity  I  could  muster,  "is 
worth  as  much  as  truth  itself" — which,  I  grant,  was  but 
a  windy  saying. 

"I  believe  it,  and  I  will  trust  it,"  said  he.  "The 
treasure  of  Kelwood  is  in  the  cave  of  Sawny  Bean,  on 
the  seashore  of  Bennanbrack,  over  against  the  hill  of 
Benerard." 

And  not  another  word  would  he  say. 


^^S>J^~ 


HE  TURNED  AND  TWISTED  TO  FREE  HIS  UANDS 


THE   SECKET  OF  THE  CAIED  163 

So  when  Mistress  Allison  had  locked  herself  in  the 
milk-hoiise,  and  advised  me  that  the  haymakers  were  in 
full  sight,  I  caused  my  man  to  roll  himself  to  the  door  of 
the  bedroom.     There  with  my  sword  I  cut  the  bonds. 

''Now,"  said  I,  "take  the  door  sharply,  without  so 
much  as  going  to  the  other  side  for  your  bundle  or  your 
knife,  and  then  the  woods  are  open  to  you  and  the  world 
wide.'' 

"I  thank  you,  master,"  he  said,  civilly.  "  When  you 
go  for  the  treasure,  I  counsel  you  do  not  call  on  Sandy 
by  your  leasome  lane." 

And  with  that  caution  he  betook  himself  into  the  glades 
of  the  wood. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

MINE   ANCIENT   SWEETHEAET 

After  he  was  gone  I  cast  about  in  my  mind,  and,  for 
the  life  of  me,  I  could  not  decide  whether  the  fellow  had 
been  lying  to  me  or  not.  It  was  indeed  a  thing  to  be 
wondered  at  how  this  chance  scoundrel  should  know 
(what  I  had  thought  known  only  to  my  Lord  of  Cassillis 
and  my  master)  that  after  the  fight  in  the  barn  I  had 
carried  away,  clinched  in  my  hand,  the  key  of  the  treas- 
ure-chest of  Kelwood. 

Now,  as  was  natural  after  this  encounter,  the  goodwife 
of  the  Grieve's  house  could  not  make  enough  of  me.  In- 
deed, if  anything,  she  made  too  much  of  me,  for,  instead 
of  suffering  her  daughter  and  Nell  to  entertain  me  as 
before  while  she  went  about  her  work,  she  thought  it 
her  duty  as  soon  as  one  of  them  came  in  and  sat  down 
to  leave  that  which  she  was  about  and  come  and  sit  with 
us  for  company.  Now  Mistress  Allison  was  a  good  wom- 
an and  agreeable  of  her  tongue,  but  I  did  not  feel  the 
necessity  for  this  byordinar  kindness. 

Yet  it  was  not  easy  to  alter  it.  Then  in  the  evenings 
came  Robert  Harburgh  to  see  me.  At  first  he  came  once 
a  week,  while  my  wounds  kept  me  weak  and  fretful.  Then, 
as  I  grew  better,  he  came  twice.  And  when  I  was  able 
to  sit  up  it  came  about  that  he  would  arrive  every  night 
and  bide  till  bedtime — so  that  at  last  I  was  almost  shamed 
to  have  him  sitting  there,  and  feared  that  he  might  be 
burdensome  to  Kate  Allison  and  her  mother. 

For  Robert  Harburgh  had  but  little  to  say,  but  he  ever 


MINE   ANCIENT   SWEETHEART  165 

looked  and  proved  kindly.  Also  he  brought  me  many 
things  from  Maybole  and  elsewhere  —  oranges  and  wine 
that  had  been  shipped  to  Irvine  from  foreign  parts,  neck- 
erchiefs also  for  Kate  and  her  mother,  A  quiet,  down- 
looking  fellow  was  Robert,  something  dull  of  the  uptake, 
and  with  little  to  say  for  himself ;  but  a  most  noble 
sworder,  and  wholly  without  care  for  his  body  when  it 
came  to  the  fighting. 

Now  it  seems  a  strange  thing  that  I,  who  had  so  long 
played  the  lover  to  Kate  Allison,  should  be  laid  by  the 
heels  in  her  father's  house,  hearing  the  whip  and  frisk  of 
her  gown  about  the  chambers  all  the  day.  And  I  still 
loved  to  hear  it,  for  she  was  a  bonny  lass  —  and  kind 
to  me.  Also  her  eyes  were  pleasant,  and  had  both  mis- 
chief and  tears  in  them — not  like  Nell  Kennedy's,  that 
held  only  mischief  and  scorn — save  once,  as  it  seemed  to 
me,  a  little  while  when  I  was  deadly  fevered,  and  when 
Dr.  Low  of  Ayr,  the  Earl  of  Cassillis's  own  physician,  or- 
dered me  herb  -  drinks,  and  shook  his  doting  wiseacre's 
head  over  me  like  a  most  melancholious  billy-goat.  Then 
for  a  little  Nell's  eyes  were  quiet  and  sorrowful. 

But  it  did  not  last.  For  by  the  time  that  I  could  get 
a  scheme  laid  to  take  advantage  of  the  gleam  of  kindness, 
she  was  again  but  mine  own  ill-set  lassie-boy  of  a  Nell, 
and  we  were  throng  at  the  sparring  and  quarrelling  just 
as  usual.  But,  as  I  say,  Kate  Allison  was  wondrously 
kind  to  me.  Many  a  night  when  the  weather  was  hot, 
and  my  wounds  paining  me  as  though  they  would  break 
again  open,  would  she  sit  by  me  with  clear  caller  water 
from  the  sj)ring,  tirelessly  changing  the  soft  linen  cloths. 
And  when  the  drops  of  fever  -  sweat  stood  on  my  brow 
she  would  touch  them  gently  away,  and  lay  her  own  cool 
cheek  against  my  forehead.  Ay,  and  when  I  put  my  hand 
up  and  drew  down  her  face  she  would  kiss  me  right 
frankly  upon  the  lips  —  yet,  as  I  judged,  not  quite  as  of 
old.     But  I  thought  it  might  be  the  illness  that  made  the 


166  THE   GEAY    MAN 

difference,  for  with  being  sick  in  body  and  feverish  in 
mind  nothing  tastes  the  same.  And  so  I  thought  it 
might  be  also  with  kisses. 

But  after  I  had  grown  stronger  I  shall  ever  mind  me 
of  one  night  when  I  got  a  horrid  awakening.  It  was  a 
quiet  gloaming.  Kate  Allison  and  I  had  the  house  to 
ourselves — to  which,  sjoeaking  for  myself,  I  did  not  wholly 
object.  I  lay  stretched  upon  the  long  oaken  settle  on 
cushions  which  Nell  Kennedy  had  brought  from  the  great 
house.  Kate  sat  beside  me  on  a  stool  and  leaned  an 
elbow  on  the  oak's  edge.  She  was  unwontedly  silent,  and 
sometimes  I  touched  her  cheek  lightly  with  my  hand.  It 
was  a  most  pleasant  night,  and  my  mind  was  full  of  pity 
and  consideration  for  her.  I  bethought  me  that,  though 
doubtless  I  could  have  looked  higher,  I  might  do  worse 
in  time  than  think  of  settling  down  with  a  sweet  and 
pleasant  lass  like  Kate  Allison.  It  was  also  touching  to 
me  that  she  should  never  have  wavered  from  loving 
me,  all  the  time  that  I  had  been  forgetting  her  and  think- 
ing of  others.  But  that,  I  said  to  myself,  is  the  way  of 
women. 

We  were  silent  a  great  while,  with  the  silence  that 
needs  no  speech,  and  my  heart  had  grown  melting  and 
kindly  to  the  young  lass,  even  as  it  had  been  in  old  days. 
All  of  a  sudden  she  spoke. 

"Launce,"  said  she,  "  Fm  going  to  be  married!" 

She  never  moved  her  head  off  my  shoulder,  leaning 
with  her  elbow  on  the  edge  of  the  settle,  and  looking 
way  from  me  out  at  the  door.  Neither  did  she  draw  her 
hand  from  mine,  but  rather  settled  it  the  more  kindly, 
nestling  it  in  my  palm. 

Yet  any  one  might  have  knocked  me  off  the  oaken 
settle  with  a  straw. 

"Married!"  said  I.  "Ay,  Kate,  lass,  of  course  you 
are  going  to  be  married.  'Tis  what  you  and  I  must 
come  to.     I  assure  you  I  oftentimes  have  been  thinking 


> 

W 

CO 


C 


C 

c 


MIKE   ANCIENT   SWEETHEART  167 

about  that.  There  are  not  the  makings  of  an  old  maid 
about  you  !" 

This  I  said,  and  waited  for  the  answer  of  her  eyes  in 
order  to  laugh  again  and  make  my  jest.  But  she  did  not 
look  at  me.     I  do  not  think  she  heard  me. 

"  I  am  to  be  married  on  Thursday  !"  she  said,  calmly. 

"  Kate  Allison  !"  I  said,  trying  to  turn  up  her  head 
that  I  might  look  into  her  eyes.  I  thought  to  see  the 
make-believe  in  them.  But,  as  women  know  how  to  do, 
she  evaded  me  without  seeming  to  be  conscious  of  it. 

"Why,  Kate  Allison,  sweatheart  !"  said  I,  "how  can  I 
be  ready  by  Thursday,  laid  here  on  my  back,  Avitli  only 
you  to  care  for  me  ?" 

"I  am  to  be  married  on  Thursday  to  Robert  Har- 
burgh  !"  she  said. 

Then  I  drew  my  hand  away,  and  sat  as  erect  and  stern 
as  the  settle  and  my  sickness  would  let  me,  for  it  is  hard 
to  appear  dignified  and  like  a  soldier  lying  on  a  couch 
and  wrapped  in  women's  shawls. 

"I  am  deceived  !"  cried  I ;  "mine  own  familiar  friend, 
in  whom  I  trusted,  has  betrayed  me,  coming  to  steal 
that  which  was  dear  to  me  when  I  lay  most  weak  and 
weary." 

And  I  think  I  made  as  if  to  rise,  for  I  had  an  idea 
that  I  must  go  and  get  my  sword  —  though  what  for 
I  cannot  now  imagine.  But  Kate  Allison  gently  put  me 
back  on  the  pillows,  and  sat  down  beside  me,  taking  one 
of  my  hands  again,  laying  it  against  her  cheek,  and 
drawing  at  the  same  time  her  stool  nearer  to  me. 

I  tried  to  withdraw  my  hand  from  hers,  but  being 
weak  she  masterfully  kept  it,  so  that  the  tears  sprang  to 
my  eyes  for  very  heljjlessness  and  anger. 

"You  have  played  with  me  and  deceived  me,  Kate 
Allison!"  I  cried,  as  soon  as  I  could  command  my  voice; 
"you  have  forgotten  the  old  days  and  all  that  we  were 
to  one  another." 


168  THE    GRAY   MAN 

Nevertheless,  Kate  Allison  never  winced,  bnt  let  me 
say  my  say  out.  And  by  this  I  knew  that  the  old  days 
were  gone  indeed.     She  was  mightily  set  in  her  mind. 

"Launce,"  she  said,  gently — ^'Launce,  dear  sweet- 
heart, hearken — I  am  fond  of  you.  No  lass  in  Carrick 
but  would  like  you  for  a  lad  and  a  lover,  even  for  your 
very  faults,  which  are  what  all  may  see." 

What  she  might  have  meant  I  have  even  yet  no  idea. 

"  Ye  are  perfect  for  a  lad  that  comes  courting,  and  I 
liked  ye  fine — ay,  and  like  ye  yet.  But  I  saw  lang  syne 
that  the  lads  that  court  best  are  not  the  men  that  marry 
best." 

"  Women  are  all  traitors  !"  said  I,  with  indignation 
tingling  through  my  body ;  "  they  kiss  and  they  forget. 
And  then  in  a  trice  they  go  kiss  another — " 

"Ay,"  replied  Kate  Allison,  with  a  little  more  grav- 
ity, "and  I  mean  to  have  a  short  word  with  you  on  that 
very  thing." 

She  paused  for  a  moment,  and  looked  staidly  and 
thoughtfully  out  of  the  window.  I  believed  at  nineteen 
that  I  wholly  understood  all  women.  But  now  I  know 
that  when  I  am  twice  that  and  more  the  simplest  seem- 
ing of  them  will  be  able  to  wrap  me  in  her  daidly-apron 
and  sell  me  in  the  market  for  green  cabbage. 

"Listen,  Launce,  my  dear,"  she  said.  "I  was  but  a 
Grieve's  lass,  and  not  unbonny  of  my  face,  so  you  courted 
me.  You  longed  after  kissing,  being  a  heartsome  lad, 
with  a  way  with  you  and  a  glint  in  your  e'e.  And  so 
you  kissed  me,  and  in  my  youth  and  folly  I  said  ye  not 
nay.  But  you  went  over  the  hill  to  the  Boreland  and 
you  kissed  Grace,  and  you  kissed  the  lass  at  the  House  of 
the  Eed  Moss  —  and  you  thought  that  I  would  never 
know  it.  And  more,  you  expected  that  none  else  should 
ever  come  near  to  kiss  me.  Ay,  and  would  have  waxed 
mightily  indignant  and  flashed  a  brave  SAVord  had  any 
dared,  for  that  is  the  excellent  way  of  the  lads  that  come 


MINE   ANCIENT  SWEETHEART  169 

courting — but  not  at  all  the  way  of  the  men  that  wise 
women  marry/' 

I  was  mazed  and  confounded  before  her,  but  could  not 
answer  a  word,  for  the  thing  was  as  true  as  if  she  had 
read  my  heart.  Where  had  the  young  lass  so  learned 
the  ways  of  men  ? 

"  Forgotten  your  kisses,  Launce  V  she  went  on. 
"And  what  of  them  ?  I  count  kisses  but  as  the  X's  and 
O's  that  bairns  make  on  the  flags  with  soft  cam  stone — 
gone  when  the  game  is  over." 

"  The  home-coming  from  the  fair  at  Maybole  and  the 
kisses  that  you  and  I  then  kissed,"  said  I,  bitterly — "  were 
these  X's  or  O's  ?    I  rede  ye  tell  me  !" 

"Launce,"  said  Kate  Allison,  "we  dreamed  a  pleas- 
ant dream,  you  and  I.  We  have  awaked.  It  is  a  new 
day.  We  wash  the  night  fantasies  off  our  faces,  and  are 
ready  to  meet  the  morning  with  the  sunshine  in  our 
eyes.  Together  we  have  sipped  the  cream.  It  is  time 
to  drink  the  milk.  We  have  gathered  the  flowers — let 
us  look  to  the  fruit." 

"Kate,"  said  I,  more  kindly,  "when  did  you  think  all 
these  things  ?" 

For  the  lassie  made  me  marvel  with  the  aptness  of  her 
speech,  and  ashamed  with  her  plain  saying  of  things  that 
I  had  hardly  named  within  myself. 

"  Ah,"  she  said,  gently  and  wisely,  "  the  thoughts  of 
a  lass  when  a  lad  comes  courting  her  are  more  than  she 
tells  with  her  mouth.  For  many  a  kiss  is  honey-sweet  on 
the  lips,  but  bitter  as  gall  in  the  heart.  Yet  so  has  it  not 
been  Avith  yours  and  mine.  We  loved  and  we  part,  even 
as  the  way-gaun  of  the  wind  that  kissed  the  apple-blos- 
som in  the  spring  when  the  year  was  young  and  glad." 

She  made  to  rise  from  her  seat. 

"  I  must  go,"  she  said. 

"To  go  meet  Eobert  Harburgh  and  to  kiss  Tiim.  I 
thought  I  knew  his  whistle  !"  said  I,  with  my  heart  rag- 


170  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

ing  angry  and  disconsolate  in  spite  of  her  fine  words, 
which  I  could  not  answer. 

"  Ay/'  she  said,  rising  and  setting  her  lips  tenderly  to 
my  brow,  which  I  pettishly  turned  away,  being  weakly 
sullen,  "even  so  —  to  meet  Robert  Harburgh  and  to 
kiss  him." 

And  with  that  she  passed  to  the  door.  She  turned  ere 
she  went  out  to  say  a  last  word. 

"And  you,  Launce,  my  lad,  will  also  one  day  desire  to 
leave  kissing  comfits  and  find  abiding  love.  And  you 
need  not  go  far  afield  to  look  for  it  either." 

Thus  I  was  left  alone  with  a  heaving  heart.  And  I  am 
not  ashamed  to  say  that  I  wept  bitterly  for  poor  Launce 
Kennedy,  who  had  none  to  care  for  him  in  all  the  wide, 
lone  world,  in  which  he  was  now  so  sore  wounded  and 
cast  aside,  like  an  old  shoe  or  a  broken  sword. 

But  even  as  I  wept  and  pitied  myself  Nell  Kennedy 
danced  in,  merry  as  the  morn,  and  brought  a  great  spray 
of  belated  hawthorn  to  set  in  a  dish  of  water  to  keep  the 
room  sweet. 

And  I  declare  I  never  knew  the  young  lass  look  so 
winsome  before. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
A  MARRIAGE   MADE   IN"   HELL 

"Wheist  Eobert  Ilarburgli  came  in  to  see  me  in  the  even- 
ing I  was  chill  enough  in  my  reception  ;  but  since  he  was 
of  a  calm  temper,  though  so  great  a  sworcler,  I  might  just 
as  well  have  embraced  him,  for  all  the  difference  it  made 
to  him. 

"  So,"  I  said,  without  giving  him  more  than  time  to 
sit  down — for  all  my  days  I  must  ever  fly  headlong  at  a 
thing  and  have  done  with  it — "so  you  are  going  to  marry 
Kate  Allison  ?" 

"  She  was  proposing  so,"  said  he,  as  calmly  as  when  he 
had  walked  across  the  yard  to  the  summer-house,  with 
the  hackbutt  bullets  splattering  about  him  and  the  guns 
going  crach-crack  down  the  hedgerows,  like  the  thumbs 
of  a  class  of  bairns  when  the  dominie  asks  a  question. 

"  So,"  said  I.  "And  you  were  thinking,  maybe,  that 
that  was  the  action  of  a  friend  when  your  comrade  was 
laid  by  the  heels  ?" 

"  I  was  thinking  so,"  said  he,  looking  out  of  the  win- 
dow at  the  trees. 

"  Did  you  not  know,"  I  cried,  for  I  was  angered  beyond 
words,  being  weak,  and  taking  ill  with  the  cherry  being 
thus  snatched  out  of  my  mouth — "did  you  not  know  that 
Kate  Allison  was  my  lass  before  she  was  yours  ?  Did  she 
not  tell  you  that  ?"  said  I. 

Now  had  I  been  myself  I  should  not  thus  have  told 
left-handed  tales  on  a  lass,  even  though  I  believed  with 
some  reason  that  she  had  deceived  me. 


172  THE   GRAY   MAN 

"I  was  not  deprived  of  the  sight  of  my  eyes/'  said  he, 
very  quietly. 

"And  you  mean  by  that — ?"  said  I,  trembling  with 
anger. 

"  That  I  did  not  need  telling  that  you  had  been  court- 
ing the  lass  off  and  on  for  a  year  or  twa,  and  that  she  took 
it  not  ill." 

"  And^  in  spite  of  that,  you  made  uj)  to  Kate  Allison 
when  I  was  lying  sick  unto  death  upon  my  bed  ?"  I  asked 
him,  bitterly. 

''How  long  may  you  have  kenned  Kate  Allison  ?"  said 
Eobert  Harburgh  to  me,  in  his  turn. 

"  Six  years  or  so,"  said  I. 

"  And  did  you  ever,  in  all  that  time,  ask  her  to  marry 
you  ?"  he  inquired. 

"  No,"  said  I,  not  seeing  what  he  was  driving  at. 

"Then,"  said  Robert,  very  dryly,  "I  did,  though  I 
kenned  her  not  six  weeks.  And  I  would  not  wonder," 
he  went  on,  as  though  deep  in  meditation — "  I  would  not 
wonder  but  that  is  the  reason  why  she  is  going  to  marry 
me." 

So  I  turned  over  in  bed,  being  deep  in  the  sullens,  and 
Robert  Harburgh  went  away,  saying  only,  "Now  ye  are 
angry,  Launcelot,  but  ye  will  find  us  both  good  friends, 
and  blythe  will  we  be  to  see  you  at  the  five-merk  lands  of 
Ohitterlintie,  which  my  Lord  Cassillis  is  setting  to  Kate 
and  me," 

However,  as  things  fell  out,  the  wedding  was  not  to  be 
on  the  Thursday,  nor  yet  for  many  Thursdays,  for  Robert 
was  bidden  ride  with  the  Earl  to  the  Inch,  his  new  house 
in  Galloway.  Hither  he  went  to  set  pressure  on  the 
country  lairds,  who  were  his  feudal  holders,  to  gar  them 
pay  the  dues  which  he.  Grab-siller  John,  thought  had  been 
too  long  overlooked  by  his  forebears.  As  the  business 
was  likely  to  prove  a  troublesome  one,  he  sent  for  Robert 
Harburgh  to  ride  with  him.     So,  without  so  much  as 


A   MARRIAGE   MADE   IN    HELL  173 

stopping  to  dismount,  for  the  message  came  when  he  had 
been  on  duty,  Robert  llarburgh  rode  away.  And  if  you 
will  believe  it,  he  went  without  so  much  as  kissing  his 
sweetheart.  He  leaned  down  and  shook  hands  with 
her.  But  as  for  me,  I  marvelled  how  she  bore  with 
that,  for  to  my  certain  knowledge  she  liked  the  other 
not  so  ill. 

Just  as  I  was  daily  getting  stronger  I  received  another 
shock  which  had,  I  think,  even  more  effect  on  me  than 
the  other.  One  morning  there  came  Sir  Thomas  down 
from  the  castle,  and  I  could  see  that  he  Avas  full  to  the 
teeth  with  news,  for  he  walked  with  great  confidence, 
and  swung  a  little  stick  made  of  two  twisted  stems  of  ivy 
which  I  had  given  him,  very  quaint  and  curious. 

"  It  is  all  done  with  now,"  he  said,  as  soon  as  ever  he 
had  gotten  himself  seated;  ''there  are  to  be  no  more  ill 
times  in  Carrick,  and  kinsmen's  blood  shall  not  flow  any 
more  in  the  west.  John  Mure  of  Auchendrayne  and  I 
have  settled  it  all  between  us.  His  son  and  apparent 
heir,  James,  is  to  marry  to-morrow  with  my  daughter." 

I  stared  at  him,  stunned  and  dumfounded. 

"  Ay,"  he  said,  "  it  is  short  notice,  but  young  folks, 
ye  ken — and  my  daughter  Avould  not  hear  of  a  great  wed- 
ding ;  only  what  was  fitting  and  plain." 

"  Your  daughter  ?"  I  said,  steadying  myself,  though  my 
heart  was  like  to  break,  for  I  thought  all  my  friends  were 
to  leave  me  together. 

"Ay,  Marjorie,"  said  Sir  Thomas;  ''she  is  a  quiet-like 
lass  and  speaks  little,  but  when  I  put  the  matter  of  the 
marriage  to  her,  she  said  only,  'If  it  will  staunch  the 
feud,  I  am  ready  to  marry  whomsoever  you  will — Sir 
Thomas  Tode,  gin  you  like !'  But  that  was  only  her 
daffing,  for,  as  we  all  know.  Sir  Thomas  is  married  al- 
ready. And  even  if  he  were  not,  marrying  him  would  be 
neither  here  nor  there  in  the  matter  of  the  Cassillis  and 
Bargany  feuds." 


174  THE   GRAY   MAN 

For  my  good  master  never  saw  far  into  a  whin-bush  all 
his  days,  though  accounted  by  most  to  be  a  wise  man. 

On  the  morrow,  which  was  the  day  of  the  ill-faured 
wedding,  I  put  on  my  complete  accoutrements  for  the 
first  time.  I  had  Dom  Nicholas  saddled,  for  I  felt  strong 
once  more,  and  greatly  desired  to  be  away  from  the  place. 
So  I  stood  by  the  gate  as  the  party  from  Auchendrayne 
came  in,  and  saluted  them,  as  was  my  duty.  Then  I  was 
riding  away  alone  down  by  the  shore  road  when  I  heard 
in  the  distance  the  sound  as  of  an  approaching  caval- 
cade. 

Bridles  were  jingling,  stirrups  clicking,  and  spearheads 
making  points  of  light,  while  the  white  foam  went  blow- 
ing back  from  the  hard-ridden  horses.  When  they  rode 
up  I  saw  that  they  were  as  trenchant  a  set  of  blades  as 
ever  a  man  might  wish  to  set  eyes  on.  And  at  the  head 
of  them  rode  young  Gilbert  Kennedy  of  Bargany. 

So,  not  knowing  whether  they  came  in  peace  or  war,  I 
set  myself  upright  on  the  back  of  Dom  Nicholas,  who  was 
of  so  great  freshness  with  kicking  of  his  heels  in  the  park 
that  he  was  ill  to  keep  at  the  stand.  Nevertheless,  stand 
I  did  in  the  midst  of  the  outer  gate,  so  that  I  should 
know  whether  they  came  in  peace  or  war,  and  to  have 
time  to  cry  to  the  porter,  even  if  they  rode  roughshod 
over  me. 

And  though  I  was  weak,  and  knew  not  what  might 
happen,  it  was  a  joy  untellable  to  be  somebody  again, 
and  to  gar  men  reckon  with  me. 

But,  being  pale,  I  fear  I  made  a  poor  figure  to  stand 
in  the  gate  and  withhold  so  many.  For  during  my  cap- 
tivity the  hair  on  my  face  had  begun  to  grow  in  a  man- 
ner that  was  surprising,  and  proved  a  constant  trouble  to 
me  to  keep  shaven. 

"  Halt !"  I  cried  to  them.  "  How  come  you  to  Culzean 
■ — in  peace  or  boding  in  fear  of  war  ?" 

''  But  to  wish  the  Tutor  luck  on  his  birthday  in  pass- 


A   MAKKIAGE   MADE   IN   HELL  175 

ing,"  said  Gilbert,  ''and  then  ride  on  to  the  help  of  John, 
Earl  of  Cassillis." 

So,  mnch  astonished  at  what  had  befallen,  and  espe- 
cially at  his  last  saying,  I  fell  in  behind  him,  and  the 
word  was  given  to  ride  forward. 

But  Bargany  called  me  to  come  beside  him,  and  asked 
me  of  my  health,  I  replied  that  I  had  been  long  time 
sick  of  a  wound,  but  that  I  was  now  recovered,  and  above 
all  things  desired  action,  being  sicker  far  of  the  doing  of 
nothing. 

Whereat  he  laughed,  and  said,  "  Be  cheerful,  and  if  ye 
want  blows  I  will  ask  the  loan  of  you  as  a  hostage  from 
your  master." 

Then,  seeing  the  stir  about  the  doors,  and  the  serving- 
men  running  every  way  with  flagons  and  dishes,  he  said, 
"  'Tis  a  great  stir  for  naught  but  the  Tutor's  birthday. 
What  may  be  the  occasion  ?" 

Then,  with  my  eyes  secretly  upon  his,  I  told  Gilbert 
Kennedy  that  the  Lady  Marjorie  was  to  be  married  that 
day  to  James  Mure  of  Anchendrayne.  I  never  saw  a 
man's  countenance  change  so  suddenly.  The  fire  sprang 
to  his  eyes,  and  died  out  again  like  dead  tinder.  The 
heart  blood  flushed  hot  to  his  face,  and,  returning,  left 
him  as  pale  as  a  maid  in  a  decline. 

Then  I  minded  how  I  had  taken  the  matter  myself. 
Yet  I  Avas  sorrier  for  him,  because  I  knew  that  he  had 
loved  her  longer  and  better  than  I.  But  nevertheless  he 
tossed  his  sword-hand  in  air,  and  cried,  "  We  are  in  time 
for  a  bridal,  brave  lads  ;  this  is  more  than  we  bargained 
for  !     Let  us  go  greet  the  bride  and  wish  her  joy !" 

And  this,  I  grant,  was  a  better  way  than  sulking  and 
self-pity  in  the  greenwood,  which  would  have  been  mine 
that  day  had  I  been  left  alone. 

With  that  he  put  the  horses  to  the  gallop,  and  we  rode 
through  the  narrow  pass  of  the  drawbridge  by  two  and 
two.    The  roar  of  the  horses  passing  over  was  as  the  roar 


176  THE   GRAY   MAK 

of  the  sea  when  the  storm  drives  up  from  the  west  on  the 
Craigs  of  Culzean. 

As  we  came  by  the  corner  of  the  terrace  I  saw  him  give 
a  look  at  that  window  of  the  White  Tower  which  faced 
to  the  landward.  It  had  been  the  Lady  Marjorie's,  and 
now  was  to  be  hers  no  more.  Then  I  saw  him  look  down 
on  the  fretting  sea  as  it  tumbled  white  on  the  pebbles 
and  rocks  by  the  Cove.  And  I  knew  why  he  looked 
there,  and  I  knew  more  also,  for  I  remembered  what  I 
had  heard  Marjorie  say  after  he  had  gone  clanking  down 
the  shore  in  his  anger  and  pride. 

Yet  all  the  while  Bargany  rode  light-hand  upon  his 
bridle-rein,  the  pride  of  his  horsemen  clattering  behind 
him,  gay  Avith  the  music  of  hoofs  and  the  dance  of  red 
and  white  pennons. 

I  wondered  not  that,  as  they  said,  he  took  the  eyes  of 
ladies  wherever  he  went.  So  that  the  Queen's  bower- 
women  quarrelled  concerning  him  till  Her  Majesty  said, 
"  I  shall  have  no  peace  till  I  take  him  for  myself.  But 
what  would  James  say  if  young  Bargany  were  to  sing 
^  John,  come  kiss  me  now,'  beneath  my  bower  window  ?" 

But  more  than  all  ladies'  favors  I  envied  him  such  a 
brave  repair  of  horse  to  follow  him.  For  Culzean  was 
too  poor,  and  the  Lord  of  Cassillis  too  near  the  bone,  to 
keep  any  such  array  of  mounted  gentlemen. 

For  hackbuttmen  and  footmen  with  spears  were 
more  to  our  Earl's  mind,  being  better  in  the  time  of 
war,  and  a  deal  cheaper  in  the  days  of  peace  —  which 
even  in  these  troubled  years  were  so  many  more  than 
the  days  of  fighting. 

As  we  rode  up,  and  the  Bargany  squadron  halted  with 
a  great  spattering  of  sand  and  tossing  of  the  heads  of 
horses,  the  wedding-folk  were  just  coming  out.  First 
of  all  there  issued  forth  the  bride,  our  Marjorie,  the 
Marjorie  that  had  been  ours,  on  James  Mure's  arm — he 
that  now  was  her  husband.     And  behind  them  came  the 


A    MARRIAGE    MADE    IN    HELL  177 

Minister  of  Maybole  and  Sir  Thomas,  walking  together 
very  caigy  *  and  jocose. 

But  Marjorie's  face  was  like  stone,  though  the  bitter- 
ness of  death  overpast  was  gone  from  it.  I  trust  mine 
eyes  may  never  see  such  a  look  of  reproach  and  pain  in 
any  human  face  as  was  in  hers  when  she  saw  Gilbert 
Kennedy  sitting  his  horse  in  front  of  the  squadron,  upon 
the  gravel  stones  from  the  seashore  that  were  laid  before 
the  castle  steps.  But  Gilbert  only  saluted  her,  and  cried 
aloud,  as  was  customary,  "  Luck  to  the  wedding  and 
health  to  the  bride  !" 

Then  ran  Sir  Thomas  to  him  and  took  his  hand,  bub- 
bling over  with  kindliness  and  pleasure. 

"  The  feud  is  staunched  indeed  when  I  see  Bargany 
once  more  in  peace  at  the  house  of  Culzean,  even  as  my 
good  friend  the  Laird  of  Auchendrayne  said  it  would  be. 
What  might  be  your  kindly  errand  ?  And  will  ye  not 
light  off  your  beasts  and  bide  to  feast  with  us  ?" 

"  I  cannot,"  said  Bargany.  "  The  Earl  of  Cassillis  is 
besieged  in  the  house  of  Inch  by  the  Lairds  of  Galloway, 
and  I  ride  to  his  assistance." 

Then  she  that  had  been  Marjorie  Kennedy  turned  to 
him,  and  said,  "And  will  ye  indeed  consent  to  staunch  the 
feud  for  John  Mure's  sake,  that  would  not  do  it  for  mine?" 

Which  seemed  to  me  a  strange  mode  of  speech  to  be 
spoken  in  the  hearing  of  a  husband  on  his  Avedding-day. 
But  I  had  forgotten  that  none  held  the  key  to  the  utter- 
ance saving  Gilbert  Kennedy  and  myself. 

"The  staunching  of  the  feud  is  neither  yours  nor 
mine.  Lady  Marjorie,"  said  Bargany,  bending  very  gently 
towards  her;  "but  I  cannot  bide  still  in  my  house  at  the 
town  of  Ayr  while  a  Kennedy  of  Cassillis — my  enemy 
though  he  be — is  dared,  outfaced,  and  threatened  by  a 
pack  of  Galloway  lairds." 

*  Friendly. 

12 


178  THE   GEAT   MAN 

"  Are  they,  then,  ill  men,  and  far  in  the  wrong  ?"  said 
she. 

"On  the  contrary,  they  are  good  men  and  in  the 
right.  But  that  does  not  hinder  me  from  standing  for 
my  name  and  house  against  every  other,  even  though 
that  house  be  foredoomed  to  fall,  because  it  is  divided 
against  itself." 

Then  he  turned  to  my  master,  saying  to  him,  "For 
this  one  time,  and  as  a  pledge  to  my  lord  the  Earl  John 
that  I  mean  his  good,  Avill  you  permit  Launcelot,  your 
esquire,  to  ride  in  my  company — he  that  hath  so  oft  rid- 
den well  against  my  folk  ?" 

"  Gladly,"  said  Sir  Thomas,  "  but  the  lad  has  been 
ill." 

"  It  is  no  far  ride,  and  the  boy  needs  but  change  of 
air  and  foes  of  mettle  to  strengthen  his  sword  -  arm 
against." 

So  in  a  trice  I  was  ready  to  follow  my  house's  enemy. 

As  I  turned  I  saw  John  Mure  of  Auchendrayne  stand- 
ing, looking  in  the  dignity  of  his  white  hair  most  like  a 
saint,  though  contrariwise  I  knew  him  to  be  that  which 
I  will  not  name.  I  heard  him  say  to  my  master,  "Ye 
see,  did  not  I  tell  you  ?  This  marriage  brings  all  good 
things  already.     And  this  is  but  the  beginning." 

"Nay,"  replied  Sir  Thomas,  "  indeed  it  is  most  grati- 
fying and  well  done  of  you.  Who  would  have  believed  a 
week  ago  that  to-day  Bargany  would  have  saddled  his 
steeds  and  mounted  his  men  to  ride  to  the  succor  of 
John,  Earl  of  Cassillis  ?" 

And  I  saw  my  good,  simple  master  raise  his  hand  and 
clap  Auchendrayne  upon  the  shoulder.  Then,  for  very 
hate  and  loathing,  I  turned  away.  Even  as  I  did  so  I 
saw  the  eye  of  John  Mure  on  the  watch,  and  I  knew 
that  he  understood.  For  his  glance  was  like  a  rapier- 
thrust  when  your  enemy  means  killing. 

Ere  the  horsemen  turned  to  ride  away  Marjorie  came 


A   MARKIAGE   MADE   IN    HELL  179 

down  the  steps  to  where  Bargany  sat  his  charger,  and, 
slipping  a  ring  off  her  finger,  she  handed  it  up  to  him. 

"  For  your  Isobel  Stewart !"  she  said. 

And  though  I  saw  it  not,  I  am  as  certain  as  if  I  had 
seen  the  crest  and  posy  upon  it  that  the  ring  was  his  own, 
one  which  he  had  given  her  in  some  past  day  when  they 
had  far  other  hopes  than  to  part  in  this  fashion  on  her 
wedding  morning. 

Then,  with  a  quick  cry  of  command  and  the  gallant 
clatter  of  hoofs,  we  rode  away.  And  that  was  the  last 
parting  in  life  of  Gilbert  and  Marjorie  Kennedy,  Avho  had 
been  lovers  ever  since  they  were  bairns,  and  had  linked 
themselves  together  for  man  and  wife  with  chains  of 
yellow  gowans  upon  the  braes  of  Culzean. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 
A    GALLOWAY     KAID 

As  you  may  suppose,  it  was  no  grief,  but  the  reverse, 
for  me  to  ride  away  with  Bargany  to  the  south,  and  leave 
behind  me  the  drear  house  of  Culzean  upon  that  dismal 
day  of  doom  and  sacrifice.  Nell  Kennedy  I  saw  nothing 
of,  though,  as  I  learned  in  the  aftertime,  she  saw  me. 
For  she  too  had  fled  from  the  house,  being  unwilling  to 
have  aught  to  do  with  such  a  deed  of  cruel  wrong  as  the 
marrying  of  her  sister,  that  was  the  flower  of  the  west,  to 
an  oafish  lout  like  James  Mure. 

''Not  but  what  our  Maidie  can  stand  up  for  herself. 
And  if  she  gets  not  her  own  way,  sorry  am  I  even  for 
James  Mure  !"  said  she. 

It  was  from  the  branches  of  a  thick  plane  that  Nell 
watched  us  ride  away  to  the  house  of  the  Inch,  and  noted 
me  as  I  cantered  by  Bargany's  side.  Of  which,  had  I 
known  it  then,  I  should  have  been  fain.  For,  wild  etter- 
cap  as  she  was,  I  now  counted  Nell  Kennedy  almost  the 
only  friend  I  had  left. 

And  as  we  went  Bargany  told  me  of  the  Earl's  message 
brought  him  by  James  Young,  the  Minister  of  Colmonel. 
And  in  especial  how  he  had  telled  a  .great  lie  to  win 
through  the  men  of  Galloway — in  which  sin  it  was  then 
uncommon  for  a  minister  to  be  found  out. 

"  Not  but  that  my  heart  is  with  the  lads  of  Galloway," 
said  Bargany;  "but,  after  all,  Gibby  Crack-tryst  is  the 
first  of  the  Kennedies,  and  I  shall  not  see  him  put  down, 
whatever  be  his  deserts,  by  Garthland  and  the  sheriff. 


A    GALLOWAY    RAID  181 

If  Cassillis  is  to  go  down,  Bargany  shall  go  with  it ;  and 
all  Galloway,  twice  told,  shall  not  accomplish  that  !" 

Although  I  felt  chilled  by  the  dull,  unheartsomc  day 
we  had  left  behind  us,  I  can  tell  you  I  thought  no  little 
of  myself  to  be  thus  riding  in  comradeship  with  Bargany 
at  my  elbow.  For  though  I  had  so  ridden  with  the  Earl 
once  or  twice,  yet  I  counted  ten  times  more  on  Bargany. 
Forty  horsemen  were  of  our  company,  and  mine  was  the 
weariest  body  among  them  all.  For  it  was  my  first  long 
day  after  my  sickness  with  harness  on  my  back,  and 
pulses  beat  where  my  wounds  had  been,  so  that  I  feared 
that  they  would  break  out  afresh,  and  I  have  to  be  left 
behind. 

At  last  we  stayed  our  steeds  at  a  small  tenant's  house 
called  Craigaffie,  a  little  way  from  the  Inch,  where  a  vas- 
sal of  Bargany's  dwelt.  Him  we  sent  to  meet  the  Earl 
and  tell  him  that  we  were  there — also  to  bid  the  Gallo- 
way men  to  come  to  an  arbitrament,  if  so  they  would. 
For  they  had  enclosed  the  Earl  back  and  front  in  his 
own  house  of  the  Inch,  so  that  none  could  pass — save  in- 
deed one  that  knew  the  byways  and  outgates  as  did  this 
Peter  Neilson  of  Craigaffie. 

Presently  there  came  back  from  the  Earl  a  message 
most  piteous,  for  he  knew  the  men  of  Galloway  had  him 
fast ;  and  he  was  afraid  for  the  safety  of  the  rents  and 
mails  that  he  had  with  him  in  silver  and  minted  gold — 
far  more,  to  do  him  justice,  than  he  was  anxious  about 
his  own  skin.  Bargany  was  his  dearly  beloved  cousin, 
his  eame,  his  saviour.  He  would  keep  friendship  with 
him  more  than  with  any  friend  he  had  all  the  days  of  his 
life  for  this  notable  deliverance  he  had  wrought.  He 
was  to  come  and  put  himself  in  the  Earl's  hands  after  he 
had  sent  the  lords  of  Galloway  about  their  business. 
The  Earl's  plighted  word  would  be  his  security. 

At  this  Bargany  gave  a  smile,  and  set  his  thumb  over  his 
shoulder  at  the  forty  swords  that  were  riding  behind  him. 


182  THE   GRAY    MAN 

"  These/'  said  he,  "  will  be  the  best  security  that  John, 
Earl  of  Cassillis,  will  not  harm  me  when  I  go  to  visit 
him  in  his  castle  of  the  Inch." 

It  was  no  long  season  before  there  came  MacDowall  of 
Garthland  and  Sheriff  Agnew  to  represent  the  men  of 
Galloway,  and  never  in  my  life,  save  when  I  went  as 
herald  to  the  great  honse  of  Kerse,  did  I  see  such  an 
exchange  of  high  civilities.  It  was  as  the  meeting  of 
heroes  when  comjoared  to  the  double-dealing  and  deceit 
of  our  break-tryst  Earl.  More  than  ever  I  wished  that 
I  had  been  born  on  the  other  side  of  the  score.  But  it 
hadna  bin  to  be. 

Agnew  the  sheriff  was  a  tall  man,  Avith  dark  hair 
quickly  frosting  to  gray,  a  hawk's  nose,  a  long  arm  good 
at  laying  on,  and  a  biting  tongue  which  he  knew  well 
when  to  hold.  The  Laird  of  Garthland,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  red  of  beard  and  brown  of  hair,  altogether  a 
man  well  set,  beginning  also  to  be  well  stomached  with 
good  feeding  and  sleeping  on  benches  of  the  afternoons. 

It  was  Garthland  who  saluted  first,  for  he  came  of  the 
oldest  race  in  Galloway — save,  perhaps,  it  may  be,  the 
MacCullochs  of  Ardwell.  But  the  eagle-nosed  sheriff 
was  the  chief  spokesman. 

"Greeting  courteously  to  you,  Bargany,"  he  said. 
"  This  is  a  pleasure  unexpected.  Over  on  our  poor  shire- 
side  the  erne  of  the  hills  neither  mixes  nor  mells  with  the 
quarrels  of  the  carrion-crow." 

"^I  greet  you  well,  sheriff,"  said  Gilbert  Kennedy; 
"but  say  your  say  plain  out,  without  bringing  all  the 
birds  of  the  air  into  the  matter." 

"Plainly  then,"  said  the  sheriff,  "the  matter  is  this. 
The  Earl  has  moved  the  law  against  us  for  rights  his 
father  granted  us  years  agone,  rights  that  have  never  been 
questioned,  and  when  we  will  not  yield  to  him  he  uses 
his  influence  with  the  King  to  make  us  traitors.  He 
sends  his  low-born  officers  to  remove  us  from  our  kindly 


A   GALLOWAY    RAID  183 

homesteadings,  and  from  the  castles  where  for  centuries 
onr  forefathers  dwelled — ay,  before  one  stone  of  Cassillis 
lay  on  the  top  of  another."  And  the  fire  glinted  in  the 
sheriff's  deep-set  eyes,  till,  with  his  eagle's  beak,  he 
looked  himself  the  very  erne  of  which  he  had  spoken. 
He  went  on  :  "Then  comes  he  himself,  with  a  force  of 
forty  horse,  to  reduce  the  unbroken  baronage  of  Gallo- 
way, He  summons  us  to  the  court  of  doom,  and  lo  !  we 
come  to  this  yett  with  a  hundred  gentlemen,  and  as  many 
more  footmen  that  but  wait  to  be  called.  We  have  obeyed 
his  mandate  to  the  letter,  whereat  he  sulks  within  gates. 
Then  we  send  him  word  that  we  are  at  the  trysting-place, 
and  that  we  will  be  most  glad  to  see  his  face.  But  for 
some  reason  or  other  that  I  cannot  guess  at,  he  comes 
not,  but  withdi-aws  himself  into  the  house  of  the  Inch, 
where  presently  he  remains.  And  we,  being  bound  to 
see  that  no  ill  befalls  him  within  our  borders,  have  set 
ourselves  down  to  be  the  warders  and  the  protectors  of 
him  and  of  the  castle." 

So  said  the  sheriff,  and  made  his  courteous  amend. 
And  to  him  Bargany  replied  : 

"  But,  Lochnaw,  ye  know  well  that  ye  have  no  war- 
rant thus  to  shut  up  the  Earl  of  Cassillis,  immuring 
your  lawful  feudal  superior,  and  defying  ancient  cus- 
tom." 

Then  spake  the  red-bearded  Laird  of  Garthland  : 

"  If  it  come  to  that,  we  are  bound  to  you  and  not  to  the 
Earl,  Gilbert  Kennedy.  Ye  are  bound  to  maintain  us 
in  our  rights  !  Am  I  to  lose  my  auld  and  kindly  office 
and  possession,  which  I  have  held  in  direct  line  from 
Uchtred,  Lord  of  Galloway  ?  Of  a  truth,  no,  Bargany  ! 
Ye  are  of  a  conscience  overtrue  for  work  of  this  kind. 
Ye  will  do  to  me  your  honorable  duty,  as  your  prede- 
cessors have  ever  done  to  mine  in  time  past." 

And  having  said  his  say  with  dignity,  the  red  Garth- 
land  held  his  peace. 


184  THE    GRAY    MAN 

I  could  see  very  well  that  Bargany  was  ill  at  ease.  He 
liked  not  the  errand  he  had  come  on.  Blows  were  very 
well,  but  to  be  process-server  sat  heavy  on  his  stomach. 
I  heard  him  mutter; 

"That  I,  Gilbert  Kennedy,  should  be  doing  John  of 
Cassillis's  dirty  work  !  For  none  other  sake  than  Mar- 
jorie's  would  I  do  this  thing  \" 

But  he  took  up  his  parable  with  the  Lairds  of  Gallo- 
way. 

"Hearken,  Garthland  and  Lochnaw.  If,  as  ye  say,  I 
am  above  ye,  well  do  ye  know  that  the  Earl  is  by  law 
above  us  both." 

He  paused  for  a  moment,  wry-face,  as  though  he  had 
swallowed  the  bitterest  drugs  of  the  apothecary.  And  I 
saw  the  sheriff  smile  a  smile  as  bitter  every  whit. 

"Hearken  to  me.  If  my  lord  continue  to  do  ye 
wrong,  and  will  not  use  you  kindly,  by  mine  honorable 
word,  in  the  hearing  of  all  these  friends,  I  will  not  only 
leave  his  lordship,  I  will  maintain  you  to  the  last  drop  of 
my  blood.  But  if  ye  pursue  my  lord  to  take  his  life, 
seeing  that  he  has  sent  for  me  to  aid  him,  I  will  defend 
him  to  the  uttermost  of  my  power." 

Then  said  the  sheriff:  "  Bargany,  we  are  honorable 
men  and  peaceful.  We  are  not  here  to  attack  the  Earl, 
but  to  defend  ourselves  in  that  thing  in  which  he  would 
do  us  wrong." 

"I  will  deal  straightly  with  my  lord,"  said  Bargany; 
"be  content,  and  leave  the  outcome  to  me." 

"  We  are  content,"  they  replied,  both  of  them  as  one. 
"  We  ken  a  man  when  we  front  him,  for  we  ourselves 
are  men.  We  will  abide  your  judgment,  whatever  you 
may  command." 

So  in  a  trice  Bargany  had  gotten  the  Earl  to  promise 
all  good  things,  and  the  Galloway  men  were  satisfied. 
Thereafter  they  all  dined  together  with  my  lord  in  the 
house  of  Inch,  and  parted  very  merry.     And  the  men  of 


A    GALLOWAY    RAID  185 

Galloway  convoyed  us  northward  to  the  braes  of  Glenap, 
where  the  whole  force  and  retinue  of  Bargany's  servants 
and  friends  met  us.  Thus  was  the  Earl  released  from 
durance,  and  his  promises  were  loud  and  many,  so  that 
we  were  all  well  contented.  And  I  thought  that  the  old 
feud  was  at  last  come  to  an  end. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 
THE   SLAUGHTER   IN"   THE    SNOW 

But,  alas !  I  was  never  more  disappointed,  shamed, 
deceived  in  my  life.  For  no  sooner  was  our  Earl  back 
in  his  own  messuages  and  domains,  and  behind  his  lines 
of  hackbuttmen,  than  he  resiled  from  all  his  promises— 
both  to  the  Galloway  men,  who  had  done  so  honorably  in 
the  releasing  and  convoying  of  him,  and  (what  seemed 
to  me  worse)  also  to  Bargany,  who  had  pledged  himself 
in  honor  to  satisfy  the  sheriff  and  Garthland.  For,  after 
all,  a  lie  told  to  a  loon  of  Galloway  is  not  like  one  to  a 
man's  own  kin  and  country.  Though,  of  course,  a  man 
that  is  true  all  through  the  web  will  not  tell  a  lie  to  any. 
But  such  men  are  few— at  least  in  the  shire  of  Ayr,  where 
I  dwell,  and  in  Edinburgh,  to  which  I  have  at  different 
times  voyaged. 

But  Bargany,  as  was  natural,  was  fierce  in  his  indigna- 
tion with  the  crack-tryst  Earl. 

"  For,"  said  he,  "  he  has  made  me,  that  am  a  man  of 
my  word,  break  faith  with  men  of  a  like  pattern,  even 
with  Uchtred  MacDowall  of  Garthland  and  the  Sheriff 
of  Galloway." 

So  after  all  this  tangled  business,  instead  of  peace,  as 
my  deeply  deceived  master  had  supposed  when  he  gave 
over  his  daughter  to  the  traitors  of  Auchendrayne,  there 
issued  at  the  last  naught  but  feud,  more  deadly  and  hate- 
ful than  ever. 

The  Earl,  who,  to  do  him  justice,  was  no  coward  as  to 
his  own  skin,  went  hither  and  thither  between  Cassillis 


THE   SLAUGHTER   IK   THE    SNOW  187 

and  Maybole,  and  even  south  to  Auclmeil,  riding  freely 
as  though  he  had  been  within  his  own  borders  all  the 
time.  And  the  traps  that  Avere  laid  for  him  by  Auchen- 
drayne  and  Thomas  of  Drummurchie,  the  Laird  of  Bar- 
gany's  barbarous  brother,  were  too  many  to  be  told.  Yet 
for  the  sake  of  the  new  alliance,  such  as  it  was,  Culzean 
meddled  not  at  all  with  the  matter,  though  doubtless  it 
was  a  course  of  infinite  bitterness  of  spirit  to  him. 

Then  all  of  a  sudden  there  came  upon  us  the  11th  of 
December,  which  is  a  day  yet  remembered  in  Carrick, 
because  of  the  many  brave  lads  that  pranked  it  in  pride 
in  the  morning,  and  who  yet  lay  stiff  in  their  war-gear  or 
ever  the  early  winter  gloaming  had  fallen. 

We  at  Culzean  got  our  warning  from  the  Earl's  man, 
John  Dick,  on  the  night  before,  how  it  was  the  order 
that  we  were  to  gather  at  Cassillis  yett  and  ride  with  them 
back  to  Maybole  town  all  in  a  company.  John  Dick  told  us, 
but  with  even  more  than  his  customary  surliness  and  un- 
willingness, that  the  cause  of  this  raising  of  the  clan  was, 
that  two  days  before  Bargany  had  ridden  past  the  gate  of 
Cassillis,  where  the  Earl  Avas,  stopping  not  at  all,  but 
riding  by  with  pennons  flying  in  despite,  which  was  held 
a  deadly  insult  to  his  feudal  superior.  So  Earl  John  had 
sworn  to  be  equal  with  him  on  his  return. 

It  was  such  a  day  of  snow  (this  eleventh  day  of  Decem- 
ber) that  even  in  the  midst  of  the  fight,  when  the  hack- 
butts  were  talking  and  the  steel  ringing,  a  man  could 
scarce  see  whither  he  was  going.  At  times  so  thick  was 
the  drift  that  Avhen  a  man  struck  at  an  enemy  with  his 
lance  he  could  not  tell  who  it  might  be  that  opposed 
him — whether  friend  or  foe. 

But  when,  very  early  in  the  morning,  we  rode  out  to 
the  muster,  the  oncoming  storm  had  not  yet  begun.  The 
air  was  bitter  cold,  blowing  from  the  southeast,  so  that 
it  drove  in  the  faces  of  the  Bargany  folk  all  the  day. 
Now,  as  of  late  years  it  had  been  customary  with  him. 


188  THE    GRAY   MAN 

my  Lord  of  Culzean  was  not  able  to  ride  with  us  ;  for 
the  chill  weather  unmanned  him,  and  he  could  do  noth- 
ing but  hurkle  over  the  fire,  with  a  lad  to  rub  his  swollen 
feet  and  stiff  knee-joints. 

So  it  befell  that  once  more  I  had  the  leading  of  our 
good  lads  from  the  sea-border.  Eight  merry  we  were  as 
we  rode  forth,  for  the  matter  seemed  to  us  no  more  than 
a  good  adventure.  None  thought  that  the  issue  would 
be  so  grim  and  bloody  as  it  proved.  We  were  but  half- 
way to  Maybole  when  we  came  suddenly  on  Auchen- 
drayne  himself  and  John  Dick,  the  Earl's  messenger,  in 
close  converse — which  I  thought  a  strange  thing,  seeing 
that  Auchendrayne  was  so  great  a  favorer  of  the  Bar- 
gany  faction.  So  soon  as  they  saw  us  come  in  sight  they 
parted,  and  John  Dick  rode  away  over  the  fields,  but 
Auchendrayne  came  towards  us,  riding  easily  and  pleasant- 
ly as  if  to  market. 

"A  good -day  to  you !"  he  cried.  'MVhither  away, 
armed  cap-c\-pie,  so  early  ?" 

''We  ride  to  meet  my  lord,  and  to  do  his  bidding!" 
I  said,  making  my  words  brief  and  curt,  because  I  liked 
not  the  man,  for  all  his  fine  figure  and  commanding 
presence. 

"Your  master,  Sir  Thomas,  is,  I  hear,  laid  by  with  his 
ancient  trouble.  I  asked  John  Dick  concerning  him. 
Tell  him  that  I  grieve  to  hear  of  it." 

"Without  doubt  you  were  on  your  way  to  visit  him," 
I  said,  with  mockery  in  my  manner  of  sjieech,  for  it  Avas 
a  strange  thing  to  meet  John  Mure  on  the  wrong  side  of 
the  town  of  Maybole  at  daybreak  of  a  winter's  morning. 

"Without  doubt,"  he  answered,  readily;  "but  now 
that  I  know  of  his  weak  state  of  health  I  need  not  trouble 
him  this  day  !" 

"There  is  the  greater  need.  Laird  Auchendrayne,"  I 
made  reply,  "  that  you  should  go  on  and  cheer  him  with 
your  pleasant  discourse." 


THE   SLAUGHTER    IN   THE   SNOW  189 

He  answered  to  that  not  a  Avord  good  nor  bad,  but 
turned  his  horse  and  rode  away  to  the  right,  making,  as 
I  guessed,  a  detour  to  avoid  my  lord  and  join  our  enemies 
of  Bargany. 

It  was  early  in  the  morning  of  this  famous  11th  of  De- 
cember (as  I  have  been  told)  that  there  Avas  a  goodly  stir 
and  commotion  in  the  town  of  Ayr.  Gilbert  Kennedy 
had  resolved  that  he  Avould  ride  that  day  to  Bargany  by 
way  of  the  town  of  Maybole.  Sorely  and  often  they  of 
his  faction  tried  to  dissuade  him,  but  he  was  set  immova- 
bly on  it,  as  he  was  on  anything  to  which  he  had  once 
made  up  his  mind. 

"  Think  ye,"  he  said,  "  that  I  am  feared  of  John,  Earl 
of  Cassillis,  or  of  all  the  Kennedies  of  the  shore  edge 
that  ever  scarfed  other  folk's  siller  into  their  wallets  like 
sclatestanes  ?" 

"  Ye  needna  bo  feared,"  said  his  brother  Thomas,  the 
Wolf  of  Drummurchie,  ''but  ye  surely  have  enough  of 
sense  to  take  care  of  your  pelt.  Even  a  swine  has  that 
muckle.  Do  you  think  that  Cassillis,  and  those  that  are 
with  him,  have  not  as  much  sense  as  we  ?  They  will  be 
standing  by  some  roadside  where  we  have  to  ride  by,  and 
they  will  have  holes  cutted  out,  I  warrant  you,  long  or 
this,  to  shoot  us  in  the  by-ganging — even  as  we  did  for 
Earl  Johnnie  at  the  limekilns  of  the  Dalgorrachies." 

But  that  debauched  villain,  the  Laird  of  Benane,  and 
his  little-wit  sister,  moved  him  to  that  pride  to  which 
also  his  own  heart  ever  too  easily  inclined.  So,  in  spite 
of  all  entreaty,  Bargany  leaped  on  his  charger  and  rode 
forward  himself,  with  only  ten  or  twelve  horsemen  as  a 
first  vanguard.  Behind  him  there  came  other  seventy, 
making  in  all  the  number  of  fourscore  armed  men  on 
horseback,  all  good  riders  of  mettle.  Some  of  these  Avere 
such  burghers  of  Ayr  as  had  a  soul  beyond  the  ell-wand, 
and  could  follow  a  foray  and  bend  the  pull  of  a  pistolet 
with  any  man.    For  I  have  learned  that  all  townsfolk  are 


190  THE   GRAY   MAN 

not  nidderlings,  as  once  I  thonght  in  my  hot  youth  and 
little  knowledge. 

Now  as  soon  as  they  were  well  mounted  there  were  two 
at  Bargany's  muster  who  rode  away  to  warn  my  Lord  of 
Cassillis  by  w^hich  way  Bargany  should  come^  so  that  he 
might  be  in  array.  The  traitorous  names  of  them  were 
William  Cunningham  and  Hew  Penandgow,  against  both 
of  whom  x\uchendrayne  had  warned  Gilbert  Kennedy. 
But  Bargany  had  taken  no  heed,  for  he  said,  "Never  yet 
have  I  seen  the  time  when  my  right  arm  could  not  keep 
my  head  against  kings  and  earls,  let  alone  pock-puddings 
and  Penandgows  !" 

"  Nor  like  I  this  day's  work,"  said  Auchendrayne, 
''for  I  see  not  here  the  weight  of  men  to  do  your  turn 
and  carry  you  through." 

Yet  all  the  time  he  was  j^lotting  that  Gilbert  Kennedy 
should  no  more  ride  home  to  Bargany,  and  that  John 
Mure  should  rule  the  land  in  his  stead. 

It  was  not  long  before  they  came  to  the  bridge  of 
Doon. 

There  they  stayed  awhile,  and  Bargany  set  his  fight- 
ing-men in  array.  And,  as  was  the  custom,  he  made  an 
address  to  them  —  of  which  I  have  heard  much  and 
often,  for  all  men  minded  it  as  the  speech  of  a  brave 
man. 

"  Sirs,"  he  said,  so  that  they  could  all  catch  his 
words,  "I  am  here  to  protest,  before  God,  that  I  seek 
neither  the  life  nor  the  dishonor  of  my  lord.  But  I  de- 
sire only  to  ride  home  to  my  house  in  peace,  if  he  will 
let  me.  But  if  not,  I  look  to  you  all  to  do  your  duty  as 
becometh  men.  He  that  is  willing  to  do  this,  out  of 
love  and  kindness  for  me.  let  him  tarry  with  me  to  the 
end.  But  if  not,  let  him  leave  me  now  at  this  pres- 
ent !" 

And  they  all  answered,  "AVe  will  die  in  your  defence 
if  any  dare  hurt  or  pursue  you  !" 


THE   SLAUGHTER   11^   THE   SNOW  191 

So,  being  well  agreed,  they  of  Bargaiiy  rode  forward. 
They  were  divided  into  two  companies,  and  their  faces 
Avere  set  towards  the  gate  of  the  town.  And  now  it 
befits  that  I  speak  of  the  things  which  I  saw  with 
my  own  eyes,  and  of  the  noble  muster  that  we  of  the 
Cassillis  faction  made  on  the  knowes  outside  of  May- 
bole. 

I  mind  well  how  the  Earl's  spies  came  riding  in  with 
the  news  that  Bargany  had  ridden  out  of  the  town  of 
Ayr,  and  what  joy  was  in  the  hearts  of  most  of  us  that 
were  there  when  we  heard  that  with  him  he  had  but 
eighty  men. 

Earl  John  was  so  full  of  pleasure  that  his  countenance 
shone,  and  he  cracked  his  thumbs  like  a  boy,  seeing  his 
enemy  already  in  his  power.  He  rode  here  and  there 
among  us,  and  saw  to  it  that  all  the  hackbuttmen  had 
good -going  matches,  and  all  the  footmen  practicable 
spears  and  pikes. 

When  we  gathered  in  the  High  Street  of  Maybole  the 
snow  was  just  beginning  to  fall,  and  presently  it  came 
driving  up  from  the  south,  so  that  we  had  it  on  our 
backs  all  through  the  fight. 

I  was  put  in  the  very  forefront  of  the  muster  witli  my 
twenty  horsemen.  For,  save  and  excepting  those  of 
Culzean,  and  the  few  that  surrounded  his  own  person 
and  were  his  gentlemen  (as  Robert  Harburgh  and  oth- 
ers), my  Lord  of  Cassillis  counted  not  many  horsemen, 
but  rather  sjient  his  means  upon  providing  hackbutt- 
men with  the  latest  species  of  ordnance. 

Nevertheless,  gallantly  enough  we  rode  forth  from 
Maybole,  with  the  hackbuttmen  and  spearmen  coming 
on  foot  after  us.  The  street  was  full  of  them  as  far  as 
one  could  discern  through  the  oncoming  storm,  rising 
and  falling  like  the  waves  of  the  sea.  Yet  was  our 
soldierly  figure  a  little  spoiled  by  the  falling  snow — 
at  least  to  the   eyes   of  the    women  that   looked  down 


193  THE   GRAY   MAN 

upon  US  in  droves  from  the  upper  windows  of  the 
houses.  But  of  course  a  soldier  cared  nothing  for  such 
a  trifle. 

When  once  we  got  outside  the  town  my  lord  bade  his 
men  line  the  hedges  and  banks,  so  that  the  hackbuttmen 
might  have  both  rests  for  their  pieces  and  shelter  for 
themselves.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Laird  of  Bargany 
had  few  hackbuttmen,  for  he  said,  "It  is  not  the  arm  of 
a  gentleman.  Comes  a  bullet  of  lead,  and  be  he  lord, 
prince,  or  peasant,  Childe  Eoland  or  base  craven,  there 
is  no  difference  and  no  remead." 

No  sooner  were  we  set,  all  under  cover,  than  our 
spearmen  upon  the  left  and  we  upon  the  right  dis- 
cerned the  host  of  Bargany  beginning  to  crown  the  op- 
posite knolls.  And  through  tbe  pauses  of  the  storm  I 
could  see  the  leaden  glint  of  their  spears,  and  hear  the 
words  of  command.  It  was  indeed  a  picked  day  for  a 
grim  fight  to  the  death. 

At  the  head  of  all  Gilbert  Kennedy  rode,  behind  him 
the  Wolf  his  brother,  and  the  Laird  of  Auchendrayne 
wearing  a  long  cloak,  for  it  was  a  stormy  day  and  he  no 
longer  a  young  man  like  the  others.  Then  it  was  that 
my  heart  rose  against  the  fighting,  and  I  had  no  such  glad- 
ness in  it  as  was  usual  with  me,  all  for  the  sake  of  young 
Bargany,  whom  I  loved.  Yet  as  soon  as  I  set  eyes  upon 
John  Mure  of  Auchendrayne  I  felt  the  iron  grow  in  my 
veins  and  the  hot  anger  mount  to  my  head.  Of  its  own 
accord  my  hand  gripped  the  spearhilt,  for  this  day,  by 
the  Earl's  command,  I  was  again  to  lay  a  lance  in  rest. 
But  I  had  now  learned  the  game  and  art  of  it,  and  took 
lessons  no  longer  from  any  one. 

"  If  the  Lord  prosper  me  this  day,  I  will  make  an  end 
of  one  false  rogue  !"  So  I  vowed,  solemn  as  if  I  had  been 
in  the  kirk  on  a  Sabbath  day. 

Then  the  two  forces  drew  so  close  together  that  we 
could  see  and  hear  one  anotlier— that  is,  before  the  snow 


THE   SLAUGHTER   IN   THE    SNOW  193 

swept  down,  blotting  out  faces  and  forms,  friend  and  foe 
alike. 

Immediately  there  began  the  challenging  and  taunting, 
as  is  ever  the  way  in  these  clan  battles,  where  every  fighter 
knows  every  one  else,  and  has  met  him  at  kirk  and  market 
a  score  of  times. 

Then  Patrick  Eippitt,  that  was  ever  a  wild  lad,  cried 
out  for  provocation  to  the  Laird  of  Bargany's  younger 
brother,  with  whom  he  had  some  quarrel  about  a  lass. 

'^  Laird  of  Benane !  Laird  of  Benane !  This  is  I,  Patrick 
Rippitt,  that  took  your  hackbutt  from  you  !  For  thy 
latest  love's  sake,  come  down  to  the  hollow  and  break  a 
tree  with  me !" 

For  that  was  his  manner  of  challenging  his  enemy  to 
fight  with  lances.  And  again  :  "  Then  for  all  thy  loves' 
sake,"  cried  Patrick,  which  made  a  laugh,  for  Benane's 
loves  were  comparable  to  the  snowflakes  for  number,  and 
eke  for  the  lightness,  but  by  no  means  the  whiteness, 
of  their  characters — "  for  all  thy  loves'  sakes,  come  down, 
and  I  will  gar  thy  harns  clatter  !" 

But  Benane  was  silent  and  returned  no  answer,  albeit 
the  moment  before  he  had  been  giving  Bargany  counsel 
to  ride  forward  at  the  charge.  But  Benane  was  a  man, 
debonnair  but  feckless,  a  weighty  man  Avith  his  tongue, 
but  thewless  and  unable  pf  his  hands. 

Long  ere  this  the  men  of  Ayr  were  keen  to  be  at  the 
shooting.  But  Bargany  held  them  in,  saying,  "  I  will  go 
to  the  length  of  my  tether  in  eschewing  all  cummer  and 
bickering,  so  far  as  I  may." 

And  with  that  he  wheeled  about  his  force  off  the  knoAves 
of  the  Lady  Carse,  and  went  down  by  the  bogside  of  Din- 
hame,  to  see  whether  a  way  might  be  won  in  that  direc- 
tion without  coming  to  the  bloody  arbitrament  of  battle. 

But  my  lord  the  Earl  cried  out,  "Ware  ye,  there  on 
the  left !  They  would  turn  our  flank  and  take  us  at  un- 
awares !" 

13 


194  THE   GRAY    MAN 

So  he  spread  out  his  hackbiittmen,  and  made  them 
race  down  the  ridges  over  against  Bargany's  men,  till 
they  won  to  the  foot  of  the  Bog  of  Dinhame.  There  on 
the  edge  of  the  moss  was  a  wall  of  turf,  or,  as  the  country 
folk  call  it,  a  "  fail  dike,"  so  our  hackbuttmen,  coming 
to  it,  first  lined  it,  and  then  began  to  fire  on  Bargany, 
who  was  somewhat  disconcerted  and  taken  aback  at  their 
alertness.  I  galloped  round  to  the  right,  to  make  safe 
the  wing  with  my  little  band  of  horse,  for  I  feared  we 
might  be  suddenly  assaulted  by  the  whole  band  of 
eighty. 

However,  as  it  happened,  the  sudden  shooting  of  our 
musketeers  threw  their  lines  into  confusion,  some  of  them 
halting  by  a  little  burnside  that  Avas  at  the  bog-foot. 
This  staying  of  the  charge  gave  further  courage  to  our 
musketeers,  who  had  full  time  to  plant  their  rests  and 
make  their  matches  ready.  Our  pikemen  also  gathered 
at  the  back  of  the  turf  dike  and  levelled  their  weapons 
over  the  heads  of  the  kneeling  hackbuttmen,  so  that  it 
had  been  as  vain  for  the  whole  company  to  have  charged 
upon  us  as  for  them  to  have  attacked  the  walls  of 
Calais. 

Nevertheless,  I  saw  them  muster  again  boldly  and  come 
at  us.  I  caught  the  trampling  of  their  horses  as  they 
gathered  speed.  The  fire  of  our  musketeers  flickered  out 
here  and  there  adown  the  line,  for  it  was  a  dark  afternoon 
and  the  flashes  could  clearly  be  seen.  I  saw  sundry 
horses  go  down  and  heard  men  fall,  the  iron  plates  of 
their  mail  clashing  on  the  frost-firmed  ground.  Some  of 
those  who  started  most  gallantly  reeled  in  their  saddles, 
threw  up  their  arms,  and  fell  backward,  while  their 
horses  galloped  riderless  away,  for  that  is  the  manner  of 
men's   falling  who   are   smitten  by  the   bullet   as  they 

ride. 

The  Wolf  of  Drummurchie  was  down.     I  hoped  that 
he  would  rise  no  more,  for  he  was  a  most  cruel  beast  and 


OUR  MUSKETEERS  THREW  THEIR  LINES    INTO   CONFUSION 


THE   SLAUGHTER   IN   THE   SNOW"  195 

the  bane  of  many  lives.  Indeed,  from  before  the  fire  of 
our  musketeers,  all  trained  marksmen,  the  riders  of  Bar- 
gany  who  had  been  so  proud  fairly  melted  away.  Thus 
was  Earl  John  justified  of  his  dependence  upon  powder 
and  lead. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
MAEJORIE   BIDS   HER   LOVE   GOOD-iq"IGHT 

I  WAS  just  rejoicing  that  the  battle  was  well  over,  and 
that  the  victory  remained  with  us  without  great  shedding 
of  blood,  when  to  my  infinite  astonishment  I  saw  a  little 
dark  cloud  of  five  or  six  men  disengage  them  from  the 
deray,  and  charge  straight  at  the  thickest  of  us.  They 
seemed  to  come  suddenly  out  of  the  midst  of  the  bat- 
tling snow-storm,  for  the  driven  flakes  beat  so  in  their 
faces  that  had  it  not  been  shed  from  their  armor  they 
would  have  been  fairly  sheeted  white  in  it,  as  indeed 
were  the  trappings  of  their  horses. 

In  a  moment  more  they  were  among  us — Bargany  him- 
self first  of  all,  with  Cloncaird  and  James  and  Andro 
Bannatyne,  and  behind  them,  with  his  sword  bare,  Auch- 
endrayne  himself.  Yet  I  opine  he  came  not  willingly, 
but  that  his  horse,  unaccustomed  to  noise,  ran  away 
with  him.  By  what  freak  of  madness  they  resolved  thus 
to  charge,  as  it  had  been  an  army  in  position,  it  is  be- 
yond me  to  tell.  In  a  moment  these  five  were  in  the 
midst  of  the  slicing  steel  and  the  flame  of  ordnance — the 
snow-flakes  driving  in  their  eyes  and  tlieir  swords  cut- 
ting a  way  through  the  white  drift  to  reach  the  foe. 

Never  was  there  such  a  fight  —  at  least,  not  in  this 
land,  for  there  were  but  five  of  them  to  near  a  hundred 
of  us !  So  that  I  saw  no  honor  in  the  battle,  and,  be- 
sides, it  went  hard  with  me  to  have  to  smite  that  Gilbert 
Kennedy  at  whose  side  I  had  ridden  so  blithely  all  the 
way  to  the  house  of  the  Inch. 


MAKJORIE   BIDS   HER   LOVE   GOOD-NIGHT  197 

But  I  spurred  Dom  Nicholas  forward  with  a  kind  of 
joy  towards  the  mound  where  Auchendrayne  had  man- 
aged to  stay  his  horse,  just  outside  the  heady  rush  of  the 
fight.  I  saw  that  he  meant  to  watch  what  the  end  might 
be,  but  I  was  determined  that  I  should  give  him  more 
than  he  bargained  for.  So  I  couched  lance,  and  crying,  "A 
Kennedy  !'^  held  at  him,  swinging  a  pistol  point-blank  as 
I  came,  and  throwing  it  away  as  I  gripped  the  spear. 
And  this  time  at  least  I  might  well  have  been  called 
Spurheel,  for  I  rowelled  Dom  Nicholas  most  vigorously. 
I  came  upon  John  Mure  with  a  surge,  so  that  I  clean 
overbore  him  with  a  lance-thrust  in  the  thigh.  I  cared 
not  a  jot  that  he  was  old.  The  devil  was  older  than  he, 
and,  besides,  if  he  wanted  not  to  stand  the  chance  of 
battle,  he  might  even  have  bided  at  home,  for  the  quarrel 
was  none  of  his. 

And  it  had  been  telling  all  of  us  if  I  had  stayed  to 
finish  him.  When  I  think  of  the  ill  the  man  did  after- 
wards, and  how  for  years  he  had  been  bringing  many 
to  their  deaths,  I  can  bite  my  thumb  for  letting  him  off 
scot-tree. 

But,  like  a  fool,  I  contented  myself  with  the  lance- 
thrust  and  the  chance  pistol-bullet  I  sped  at  him  in  the 
heat  of  the  fight.  For  I  never  could  abide  the  cruel 
slaying  of  the  wounded,  which  is  practised  even  more  in 
these  private  wars  than  in  the  great  affairs  of  nations. 
And  this  over-delicacy  has  often  stood  in  the  way  of  my 
advantage. 

So  I  turned,  and  left  Auchendrayne  lying  on  the 
ground.  As  I  came  back  I  heard  Bargany  crying  out,  "  I 
fear  we  are  too  few  I     But  have  at  them  till  we  die  !" 

There  was  but  one  that  fought  with  him,  all  his  other 
companions  being  stricken  down.  And  in  a  trice  he  alone 
was  left  on  his  horse.  Nevertheless,  it  was  with  a  light 
hand  on  the  rein  and  a  feat  touch  of  the  heel  that  Gil- 
bert Kennedy  kept  his  head,  though  the  blows  fell  like 


198  THE   GRAY   MAN 

hail  on  his  armor.  There  were  three  that  he  hokl  at 
arm's-length — all  the  while  crying  ont  for  the  Earl,  and 
trying  fiercely  to  break  through  the  spearmen,  who  stood 
like  a  fence  about  the  person  of  Cassillis. 

"Where  is  my  lord  himself?"  he  cried.  "Let  him 
now  keep  promise,  and  come  out  like  a  man  to  break  a  tree 
with  me  !" 

So  went  the  fight  of  the  one  against  many,  and  such 
deeds  of  valiance  saw  I  never  any  man  do  in  this  realm  of 
Scotland,  though  in  my  time  I  have  seen  so  many  brave 
and  worthy  things  done.  For  G-ilbert  Kennedy  attacked 
Patrick  Rippitt  and  Quintain  Crawford  with  strokes  that 
nearly  dang  them  senseless,  crying  at  each  blow,  "Bar- 
gany  !  Bargany  !  To  the  rescue,  Bargany  !"  But  ever  as 
he  raged  through  the  fight  like  a  lion,  I  saw  John  Dick 
watching  him  with  a  poised  lance  in  his  hand.  And  while 
Gilbert  was  at  blows  with  Rippitt  and  Big  Quintain,  Dick 
raised  the  spear  and  sent  it  quivering  at  him,  with  an  art 
which  I  never  saw  any  man  master  of,  save  only  himself. 
Gilbert  Kennedy  had  taken  no  note  of  him — for,  as  I 
heard  afterwards,  Auchendrayne  had  told  all  that  were  in 
the  camp  of  Bargany  that  John  Dick  was  his  man,  and 
his  paid  intelligencer  in  the  host  of  the  enemy. 

The  poised  lance  struck  young  Bargany  full  in  the  neck 
and  stayed.  So  in  the  midst  of  his  foes,  and  striking  at 
them  to  the  last,  he  fell,  who  was  the  bravest  man  of  his 
age.  And  at  his  overthrow  there  fell  a  silence  for  a  space, 
and  the  battle  smother  cleared.  Only  the  snow  fell,  and 
scarce  melted  on  the  face  that  was  already  white  and  set 
in  death. 

We  crossed  our  spears  and  made  a  bier  with  our  cloaks, 
whereon  we  laid  him.  Then  very  gently  I  drew  away  the 
deadly  lance,  though  the  wound  bled  not  much,  but  in- 
wardly, which  Avas  worse.  We  thought  to  bear  him  to 
some  castle  of  his  own  folk,  as  it  might  be  to  tlie  house 
of  Auchendravne.     But  the  Earl  John  came  and  looked  at 


MARJORIE    BIDS    HER    LOVE    GOOD-KIGHT  199 

his  foe  and  kinsman  as  he  lay  on  tlie  snow  with  his  eyes 
closed. 

"  Carry  him  to  my  castle  at  the  town  end  of  Maybole," 
said  he,  "  for  that  is  near  by." 

Now  I  thought  that  not  the  best  place  in  the  world  for 
the  young  man's  recovery,  but,  being  bidden,  it  was  not 
mine  to  reply,  but  only  to  obey. 

We  came  to  the  portcullis  gate  of  Maybole,  and  were 
bearing  him  in  upon  our  shoulders,  when  down  the  road  to 
the  town  there  came,  riding  like  the  wind,  first  a  lady 
and  then  a  man  that  followed  hotly  in  pursuit.  When 
they  came  nearer  I  saw  that  the  lady  was  she  who  had 
been  Marjorie  Kennedy,  and  that  the  man  riding  after 
was  her  husband,  James  Mure.  At  sight  of  us  who  bore 
the  soldier's  bier  slowly  on  our  spears,  Marjorie  leaped 
from  her  horse,  and  left  it  to  wander,  bridle  free,  whither 
it  would.     But  a  page  seized  and  held  it. 

She  came  swiftly  to  where  we  Avere  carrying  our  burden 
on  the  crossed  lances. 

"  Is  it  Gilbert  Kennedy  ?"  she  said. 

We  told  her  ay. 

"  Lay  him  down  under  the  gate,"  she  commanded  ;  "I 
would  speak  with  him," 

"  But,  my  lady  Marjorie,"  I  said,  as  gently  as  I  could, 
"  I  fear  that  he  is  dead  already." 

"  Then  I  would  even  speak  to  him  dead  !"  she  cried. 
^'  Lay  him  down  !" 

Her  husband  came  up  to  take  her  by  the  hand  as  if  to 
remove  her,  but  she  turned  on  him  in  white  anger,  swift 
and  flaming. 

.  "  You  that  have  never  yet  dared  to  lay  a  hand  on  me, 
is  it  like  that  you  shall  begin  now  ?  Go,  look  to  your 
father  ;  cravens  that  shun  the  battle  ought  not  to  brawl 
with  women  in  the  gate  !" 

And  without  further  remonstrance  James  Mure  slunk 
away,  like  the  very  pitiful  rogue  that  he  was.     I  could 


200  THE   GRAY   MAif 

have  kicked  the  cur,  and  wished  there  had  been  fewer 
folk  there — for  I  had  done  it  too. 

Then  she  that  had  been  so  proud  and  haughty  to  young 
Bargany  when  he  was  alive,  took  the  fair,  wounded  head 
in  her  arms,  crouching  beside  him  in  the  dun,  trampled 
snow,  while  the  flakes  blew  in  upon  her  unbound  hair. 
She  crooned  and  hushed  him  like  a  bairn,  while  we  that 
had  borne  him  stood  wide  from  her,  some  turning  away 
altogether.  But,  because  I  knew  all  and  loved  her,  I 
stood  near. 

"  Gilbert,"  she  said,  "  noblest  and  dearest,  never  doubt 
but  that  I  loved  you — never  loved  but  you.  Though  I 
flouted  you  oft,  and  ever  sent  you  empty  away,  yet  I 
loved  you  and  none  other.  And  I  want  the  world  to 
know  that  I  loved  him  ;  ay,"  she  said,  turning  her  face 
up  to  us  all  defiantly — ''ay,  and  loved  him  with  clean 
hands,  too,  for  he  that  is  dead  never  knew  it.  But  I  de- 
sire you  that  were  his  enemies  in  life  to  know  that  I, 
Marjorie  Kennedy,  honored  myself  by  loving  the  noblest 
man  and  the  fairest — not  that  thing  there,  who  by  coz- 
enance  bought  me  as  cattle  are  bought  in  the  market- 
place." 

She  laid  down  his  head  very  gently,  taking  a  fine  silken 
scarve,  soft  and  white,  from  her  own  neck.  And  in  the 
folds  of  that  wJiich  was  yet  warm  with  the  warmth  of  her 
pure  and  gracious  bosom  she  wrapped  from  common 
sight  the  head  of  him  who  had  died  without  knowledge 
of  her  love. 

Then  she  kneeled  low  down  upon  her  knees,  clasping 
her  hands  and  holding  the  last  fold  of  the  napkin  ere  she 
covered  his  face  from  sight. 

"Ah,  best  beloved,"  she  said,  very  gently,  yet  so  that 
I  could  hear,  "  fare  thee  well !  So  have  I  never  said  fare- 
well before.  But  ever  scornfully,  being  in  fear  of  mine 
own  heart's  treachery.  Lie  you  there  that  wert  the 
noblest  man  the  sun  shone  on,  of  adversaries  the  most 


o 
o 


H 

tE 

O 

a 
y. 
e 

p: 
C 

c 


05 


"■•\t  ■.  -'^^         ■    ill  V"'*  ^ 


MARJORIE   BIDS    HER    LOVE    GOOD-NIGHT  201 

fearless,  of  enemies  the  most  chivalrous,  of  friends  the 
truest,  of  loves  the  sweetest — lie  you  there  !  Those  that 
hated  you  were  many.  But  there  was  one  that  loved  you 
— ay,  and  loves  you,  and  ever  shall  love  you  !  Lie  you 
there,  heart  that  never  feared  aught  but  God  and  dis- 
lionor  and  a  lie — heart  that  never  took  favor  from  man 
nor  refused  one  to  woman.  See,  I  will  touch  your  lips 
— those  sweetest  lips  that  never  of  my  own  will  have  I 
touched  before.  The  earth  be  kind  to  your  body,  sweet. 
The  heavens  receive  your  soul  with  honor,  and  the  angels 
that  warred  with  Satan  and  vanquished  him  stand  up  at 
your  entrance  to  give  you  room  !" 

She  smoothed  the  cloth  upon  the  face  with  mighty 
love  in  the  caressing  of  her  finger-tips. 

"  Good-night,  dear  love  !"  she  said,  lifting  it  for  the 
last  time  and  kissing  his  brow.  "  It  is  sweet,  even  thus 
in  death,  to  tell  thee  that  I  love  thee  \" 

Then,  when  Marjorie  had  done  bidding  her  love  fare- 
well, we  lifted  the  crossed  spears,  and,  setting  them  again 
on  the  shoulders  of  men,  we  carried  Gilbert  of  Bargany 
away. 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

DAYS    OF  QUIET 

I  EAN  back  to  bid  Marjorie  return  with  ns  to  Cnlzean, 
where  at  least  we  could  keep  her  safe.  She  stood  where 
we  had  left  her,  looking  at  the  place  where  her  love  had 
lain.  The  marks  of  the  crossed  spears  and  certain  drops 
of  blood  alone  remained  on  the  snow. 

At  the  sound  of  my  voice  she  started  as  from  a 
dream. 

"  Ah,  Launcelot,"  she  said,  looking  at  me  strangely, 
as  though  I  too  had  been  dead  and  in  a  newer  life  had 
unexpectedly  confronted  her,  *'do  you  think  that  I,  who 
fear  not  fifty  in  the  highway,  fear  one  or  two  in  the 
house  of  Auchendrayne  ?  My  work  is  not  done  there 
yet,"  she  added  ;  "till  it  be,  there  I  shall  bide." 

And  with  that  she  mounted  and  rode  away.  Never 
did  I  see  a  cavalcade  ride  home  in  such  fashion  after  a 
victory.  There  was  not  a  man  of  us  from  Culzean  but 
went  with  his  head  hanging  down  like  a  little  whij)ped 
cur.  And  when  we  told  Sir  Thomas  he  was  like  to  break 
his  heart,  for  he  was  a  kindly  man,  and  had  ever  a  great 
affection  for  Bargany. 

And  Nell,  Avhen  she  heard  it,  went  out  and  stopped 
the  boys  that  played  at  ball  and  shouted  in  the  tennis- 
court.  Also,  to  keep  them  sober,  she  sent  them  to  learn 
their  religion — of  which,  in  common  with  all  in  that  coun- 
tryside (save  perhaps  my  master),  they  had  great  need. 

.  But  strange  to  tell,  after  the  grief  for  Bargany's  death 
was  a  little  by-past  among  us,  there  befell  the  quietest 


DAYS   OF   QUIET  203 

and  most  irracions  time  that  ever  liacl  been  in  the  house 
of  Oulzean.  It  was  like  the  coming  of  joy  after  the  rain 
— the  warm  rain  of  pity  which  thawed  our  winter-frozen 
hearts. 

Yet  the  things  that  happened  during  these  months 
were  many.  First  of  all  there  was  the  marrying  of  my 
pretty,  cruel  Kate  to  Eobert  Harburgh,  who  had.  at  last 
gotten  leave  to  depart  from  the  Earl,  and  the  down-sit- 
ting to  settle  on.  So  the  day  came  that  I  had  looked  for 
to  be  so  bitter  to  me,  and  lo !  it  was  not  bitter  at  all ;  for 
I  stood  beside  Nell  Kennedy  in  white,  who  was  Kate 
Allison's  best  maid,  and  it  was  indeed  a  sight  comely. 
Then  it  Avas  that  for  the  first  time  I  honestly  judged 
Nell  to  be  more  beautiful  than  her  sister  Marjorie,  of 
which  I  have  often  thought  since. 

When  all  was  over,  and  Nell  and  I  had  done  racing 
and  throwing  of  old  shoes  after  them,  as  they  rode  away 
together  to  their  well-furnished  house  of  Chitterlintie,  it 
chanced  that  she  and  I  walked  home  together.  We  were 
silent  a  long  while. 

Then  said  I,  "  Nell,  do  you  remember  how  it  was  our 
daily  use  to  quarrel  ?" 

"And  so  it  may  be  again,"  she  said,  tossing  her  head. 
"  I  wonder  where  the  rope  is,  and  the  tow  -  steps  that 
used  to  dangle  from  the  White  Tower  ?"  she  asked,  after 
a  moment. 

"They  are  e'en  there  yet,"  I  said,  "if  it  be  that  you 
desire  to  go  and  see  your  lad.  But  be  more  timely,  I 
pray  you,  in  your  home-coming,  for  now  you  have  no  ex- 
cuse in  the  way  of  sisters — " 

Then  I  remembered,  and  was  shamed.  However, 
Nell  paid  no  heed,  but  seemed  to  be  thinking  of  some- 
thing else. 

"  Nor  have  you  novv^  any  excuse  for  going  down 
by  to  Sandy  the  Grieve's,"  she  said,  giving  me  tit  for 
tat. 


204  THE    GRAY    MAK 

"Nell,"  said  I,  "we  arc  very  good   friends,  are   we 

not  r 

"Ay,"  said  she,  dryly,  "brawly  do  I  ken  the  reason  of 
that." 

"And  what  may  the  reason  be  ?"  I  asked  of  her. 

"Just  that  I  am  all  there  is  left,"  she  said,  so  qnickly 
that  I  declare  the  saying  took  the  wind  from  me,  like  a 
sudden  blow  where  one's  breath  bides.  Nor  do  I  yet 
know  the  answer  to  that,  for  on  the  surface  of  the  thing 
there  was  certainly  some  reason  in  what  she  said.  "  Oh, 
I  am  not  proud,"  she  went  on,  "and  you  and  I  are  good 
friends  and  good  comj^any!  I  am  e'en  content  to  be 
Mistress  Do-no-better  I" 

"Nell,"  said  I,  going  nearer  to  her  and  taking  her 
hand  —  "Nell,  you  and  I  are  now  to  be  more  than 
that." 

But  she  drew  her  hand  away  with  a  jerk. 

"Try  a  new  way  of  it,"  she  said  ;  "I  am  not  taking 
Mistress  Katherine  Allison's  cast-off  sweet  speeches  I" 

So  that  base  little  wretch  Kate  Allison  had  been  at  the 
telling  of  tales  ! 

After  this  I  saw  no  better  way  out  of  the  bog  than  to 
withdraw  myself  from  her  and  walk  apart  in  that  silent 
dignity  which,  upon  occasion,  I  have  at  my  command. 

"  No,  Launce,"  she  said,  standing  up  with  her  hands 
behind  her  and  her  mouth  pouted,  "you  are  a  good  lad 
enough,  but  simple.  I  knew  that  I  would  send  you  into 
the  sulks.  That  was  the  reason  I  said  it.  If  you  take 
me  for  a  sweet  confection  that  melts  in  the  mouth,  you 
mistake  me  sorely  !" 

But  I  made  no  answer,  not  indeed  having  any  to 
make,  and  so  marched  off  by  myself.  Yet  for  all  Nell's 
ill-treatment  and  scorning  of  me  I  did  not  grieve  any 
more  for  that  minx  Kate.  For,  as  I  was  no  long  time  in 
discovering,  the  pretty  traitress  had  told  Nell  many  of 
those  sweet  things  I. had  said  to  her.     I  never  imagined 


DAYS    OF    QUIET  205 

that  girls  told  such  speeches  and  love-makings  the  one 
to  the  other.  I  had  always  believed  that  a  lass  kept  her 
own  secrets,  and  only  told  other  people's.  It  was,  in- 
deed, most  true  what  Nell  had  cast  up  to  me.  I  was 
but  a  simple  lad. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

ON   THE    HEAKTSOME   HEATHER 

Now  I  must  tell  during  this  time  of  Sir  Thomas  Ken- 
nedy. He  seemed  altogether  another  man.  He  had 
ever,  indeed,  been  kindly  and  generous,  forgiving  and 
unsuspicious.  But  during  these  spring  months  of  the 
year  after  Bargany's  death  he  seemed  to  ripen  like  a 
winter  apple  when  it  is  laid  by,  till  there  was  no  more 
sourness  in  him  anywhere. 

Oftentimes  he  would  come  and  cause  me  to  read  to 
him  out  of  the  Gospels.  Aforetime  it  had  always  been 
from  the  Old  Testament,  which  I  had  ever  thought  the 
more  interesting,  till  Sir  Thomas  that  spring  showed  me 
other  of  it,  making  me  read  through  the  Holy  Gospels. 

Indeed,  to  talk  with  him  and  watch  his  life  was  better 
than  any  sermon.  I  declare  that  before  I  understood 
his  character  and  thought,  I  knew  not  that  religion  was 
aught  more  than  the  color  of  a  faction — a  thing  to  fight 
about,  like  the  blood  feuds  of  Cassillis  and  Bargany, 
concerning  the  wrong  and  right  of  which  not  one  in  a 
thousand  knows  anything,  and  still  fewer  care. 

Yet  for  all  his  increasing  gentleness  there  was  naught 
unmanly  about  my  lord,  but  ever  the  bearing  and  speech 
of  a  most  courteous  knight.  He  had  a  great  love  for 
noble  and  sweet  music,  and  often  diverted  himself  on 
the  viol,  upon  which  he  played  most  masterly.  The 
scurril  Jest,  indeed,  he  would  sharply  reprove  ;  but  his 
heart  still  inclined  to  wit  and  mirth,  and  his  counte- 
nance was  constantly  cheerful. 


OFTENTIMES  HE   WOULD   CAUSE   M[<:   TO   READ   TO   HIM   OUT   OP 

THE   gospels" 

9 


ON    THE    HKAKTSOME    HEATHER  207 

Specially  this  was  so  when  he  and  I,  with  Xell  and 
little  Davif],  rode  south  to  Galloway,  where  we  were  to 
abide  a  long  season  with  Sheriff  Agnew.  For  Marget 
Kennedy,  his  eldest  daughter,  was  married  to  the  young 
laird,  the  sheriff's  son,  and  abode  at  the  castle  of  Loch- 
riaw.  Now  in  these  days  the  air  of  Galloway,  brisk  yet 
kindly,  suited  my  master  better  than  the  sea  winds  which 
were  ever  blowing  about  Culzean,  And  what  was  more 
to  him  than  all,  Galloway  was  not  so  torn  by  feuds  as 
Carrick  and  Kyle.  And  a  man  held  not  his  life  ever  in 
the  palm  of  his  hand,  as  a  tavern  drawer  does  an  unsteady 
cup  which  at  any  moment  may  be  spilled.  Nevertheless, 
my  good  master  found  an  infinite  sadness  in  this,  that  in 
a  wide  realm  of  men  that  are  called  Christians,  I,  Launce- 
lot  Kennedy,  should  have  come  to  the  years  of  manhood 
with  no  better  opinion  of  religion  than  that  it  was  the 
rag  of  faction.  And  this,  too,  with  ministers  in  mostly 
every  parish,  with  jjreachings  and  com.munings,  and  all 
the  outer  husk  of  godliness. 

But  during  this  springtime  Sir  Thomas  showed  me 
quite  other  of  it.  But  yet  I  gave  not  in  to  all  his  argu- 
ment about  the  Kingdom  of  Peace.  For  I  answered  that 
I  was  his  soldier  and  servant,  and  that  time  and  again  it 
had  been  so  ordered  by  Providence  that  fight  I  must — 
for  the  safety  and  honor  of  my  master  and  eke  for  mine 
own,  this  being  the  sphere  of  life  in  which  my  lot  had 
been  east. 

"I  object  it  not,"  said  Sir  Thomas  ;  "  defence  and  the 
appeal  to  arms  are  lawful.  But  I  have  lived  many  days, 
and  I  think  shall  not  live  many  more,  yet  never  have  I 
seen  the  lasting  success  of  them  that  make  the  apj>eal  to 
the  sword.  Truly  does  Holy  Writ  say,  that  they  that 
flee  to  the  sword  shall  perish  by  the  sword." 

And  as  we  paced  together  he  read  to  me  much  from 
his  little  Bible,  and  bemoaned  his  sins  and  evil  life, 
especially  how  that  he  had  been  overtaken  in  the  house 


208  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

of  Sir  Thomas  Nisbett  on  tlie  New  -  year's  night  of  the  at- 
tack. I  wished  that  I  dared  tell  him  that  I  had  arranged 
the  matter  with  his  host  for  the  saving  of  his  life.  But  I 
judged  that  repentance  is  no  bad  thing  for  young  or  old, 
so  I  e'en  let  him  repent  his  fill  and  bemoan  as  he  would. 

Few  places  more  heartsome  have  I  seen  than  the  tower 
of  Lochnaw.  First,  it  stood  near  to  an  inland  loch,  where 
ducks  squatted  and  splashed,  instead  of  being,  like  Cul- 
zean,  set  amid  the  thresh  of  winds  and  the  brattle  of  the 
sea.  Then  the  sheriff  and  his  children  were  well  agreed 
and  friendly  with  their  neighbors,  so  that  it  was  a  prov- 
erb that  the  wolves  and  the  iambs  lay  down  together  in 
that  countryside.  For  if  you  stirred  an  Agnew  you  had 
all  the  wolves  of  Galloway  on  your  back.  But  in  truth 
the  Agnews  were  somewhat  strange  "lambs,"  though 
their  name  bears  that  signification. 

"  We  are  called  Agnews  because  we  have  so  often  been 
fleeced,"  said  the  sheriff  once  in  his  pleasantry. 

But  I  told  him  that  was  bad  sense  though  good  wit — 
because  in  the  hills  we  shore  not  the  lambs  till  they  had 
grown  to  be  sheep. 

"  Ay,  well,"  said  the  sheriff,  twinkling  with  his  eyes, 
"  shear  my  son  Patrick  there,  for  he  is  now  sheep-muckle, 
and  has  been  so  silly  as  to  mix  himself  with  the  unruly 
folk  of  Carrick." 

I  had  indeed  great  pleasure  in  the  house  of  Lochnaw. 
It  is  a  fair  place,  with  walls,  moats,  and  drawbridges  all 
about — very  proper  for  defence — so  that  there  be  no  artil- 
lery set  against  it.  But  to  my  thinking  the  mounds 
might  now  very  well  be  levelled  and  turned  into  walks 
and  terraces,  as  has  been  done  at  Culzean. 

I  sat  down  daily  with  the  family  at  table,  and  was  in 
all  respects  as  one  of  them.  For  the  sheriff  said,  "Ye 
are  not  to  be  strange  with  us — for  my  wife  comes  from 
within  sight  of  Kirrieoch  Hill,  and  likes  dearly  to  listen 
to  the  tongue  of  the  muirland  border  folk." 


ON   THE    lIEARTvSOME    HEATHER  209 

"  Ay,"  said  my  Lady  Agnew,  for  I  will  not  call  her  the 
old  lady,  seeing  that  she  had  kept  the  heart  that  was 
within  her  yonng — ''ay,  and  I  have  not  seen  any  folk  to 
better  them  on  these  fat,  profitable  Rhynns." 

"That,"  said  the  sheriff,  "was  what  I  thought  when 
I  wont  to  the  Minnoch  side  for  a  wife." 

And  very  gallantly  he  lifted  his  wife's  hand  to  his  lips, 
like  the  noble  and  courtly  gentleman  he  was.  And  to 
this  day  the  Agnews  have  ever  been  proud  of  their  wives. 
And  with  reason. 

"  Hearken  to  these  young  folk,"  said  Lady  Agnew,  as 
the  noise  and  tumult  of  much  laughter  and  daffing  came 
u])  to  us.     "  Hark  to  them.    Is  it  not  good  to  be  young  ?" 

"  And  therefore  it  is  good  to  be  my  Lady  of  Lochnaw  !" 
said  I,  for  I  determined  to  show  that  there  were  folk  in 
Carrick  that  could  be  gallant  as  Avell  as  Galloway  Agnews. 

"  Hoot,  Culzean  !"  cried  the  Lady  Agnew,  "  how  have 
ye  brought  up  your  squire  that  he  cannot  see  a  well-look- 
ing woman  but  on  the  instant  he  maun  begin  to  court 
her  ?" 

"What !"  cried  my  master,  "the  regardless  loon — and 
that  before  her  husband's  face,  too  !" 

"  That,  at  least,  is  not  a  Galloway  fault,  at  ony  gate," 
said  the  sheriff,  smiling,  "for  Galloway  ever  behaves  it- 
self before  folk,  and  courts  only  behind  backs  and  slyly  by 
the  licht  of  the  moon." 

"  Ye  talk  havers,  Andrew,"  said  his  wife.  "  Never  did 
I  meet  you  behind  backs  all  the  days  of  our  courting." 

"Na,"  said  the  sheriff  ;  "but  your  father,  honest  man, 
was  sair  troubled  with  deafness,  and  your  mother  was 
blind  and  lame  o'  a  leg  forbye." 

"Hand  your  tongue,  guidman.  Have  some  mense 
afore  the  young  man,  for  he  looks  a  sober  chiel  and  blate. 
What  should  he  have  to  do  with  lasses  ?    At  his  years  !" 

Here  Nell  Kennedy  broke  out  in  peal  on  peal  of  laugh- 
ter, and  when  they  asked  Ikm-  the  reason — 

14 


210  THE   GRAY   MAN 

"  It  was  but  at  Lanncelot's  face  when  my  lady  praises 
him  for  being  blate.  He  looks  as  innocent  as  our  gray 
cat  Grimalkin^  when  she  has  eaten  all  the  fish  for  supper." 

I  wish  that  I  could  dwell  longer  on  these  sweet,  peace- 
ful days  in  Galloway,  but  the  spring  went  on  apace,  and 
Sir  Thomas  was  summoned  back  to  Culzean.  His  nephew 
the  Earl  urgently  needed  his  advice,  and  wrote  to  him  to 
say  so. 

''The  Earl  makes  you  many  compliments,"  said  the 
Lady  Lochnaw. 

"Ay,  ay,"  said  Culzean,  "Earl  John  was  aye  a  great 
spender  with  his  tongue,  even  as  was  the  daddy  of  him." 

So  we  were  bound  to  ride  away  from  this  kindly  and 
merry  house  of  Lochnaw,  and  much  did  I  desire  to  return 
thither.  Never  once  did  we  speak  of  wars  and  strata- 
gems while  we  remained  under  that  roof,  but  all  of  friend- 
shij),  of  lusty  daffing,  and  of  leasome  love. 

But  when  we  mounted  I  bade  farewell  to  all  with  a 
wae  heart.  I  envied  the  sheriff  greatly,  for  he  had  a  wife 
whom  he  loved  in  age  as  in  youth,  and  yet  whom  he  knew 
wherein  to  be  the  master  of — a  thing,  I  take  it,  which 
makes  home  happier  than  all  besides.  I  thought  within 
me  that  Patrick,  his  son,  had  set  himself  a  harder  field  to 
plough  in  his  Marget.  Yea,  already  methought  he  had 
let  the  reins  slip  from  his  hands — which,  after  all,  is  no 
strange  thing,  considering  that  she  was  own  sister  to 
Marjorie  and  Nell  Kennedy,  of  whose  stiff  necks  I  had  oft 
had  experience. 

Ere  we  went  the  sheriff  said  a  word  that  amused  us  all. 

"When  I  came  to  be  sheriff,"  he  said,  "I  found  my 
father  at  the  horn,  outlaw  and  rebel,  for  refusing  to  pay 
teinds  to  cover  the  back  of  a  bishop's  lady  with  silks  and 
satins.  And  when  I  die  it  looks  like  that  I  shall  see  my 
son  at  the  horn  for  cleading  of  his  wife  according  to  the 
degree  of  a  queen." 

For  young  Patrick  Agnew  liked  better  than  all  to  be 


ON    THE    IIEAIITSOME    HEATH  Ell  211 

forever  gadding  about  after  the  merchants  of  France 
and  the  Low  Countries^,  who  knew  his  weakness  so  well 
that  they  would  come  from  far  to  sell  him  stufE  for  the 
decking  of  his  lady — who,  when  all  was  said  and  done, 
Avas  nothing  to  compare  to  Nell  or  even  to  Marjorie,  her 
younger  sisters. 

So  we  departed,  almost  heart-broken  to  leave  the  sweet 
place  of  Lochnaw.  And  the  sheriff  rode  with  us  to  the 
village  of  Stranrawer — a  long,  clarty,  Irish-looking  street 
with  pigs  and  bairns  running  about  it,  set  on  the  shore  of 
a  fine  loch.  Here  Sir  Andrew  and  his  retinue  bade  us 
farewell,  and  so  turned  them  and  rode  away  back  to  the 
homely  steading  of  Lochnaw. 

Now  upon  our  homeward  journey  it  was  the  great 
good  pleasure  of  the  knight,  my  master,  that  we  should 
ride  up  the  Minnoch  Glen  to  visit  my  father  and  mother, 
whom  I  had  not  seen  for  long.  Sir  Thomas  put  it  that 
it  would  be  well  that  we  rode  not  directly  by  Ardstinchar 
and  near  to  Bargany  along  the  shore  road,  for  the  folk  of 
Bargany  were  cruelly  set  against  us.  Nevertheless,  I 
knew  that  the  real  reason  was  that  he  wished  me  to  see^ 
my  mother. 

So  we  struck  across  the  moorland  country  of  Wigton- 
shire  to  the  head  of  the  Loch  of  Cree,  which  is  a  vast, 
wild,  swampy  place  where  many  waterfowl  congregate, 
and  where  duck  and  seagull  build  their  nests. 

As  we  breasted  the  swelling  moors  we  came  in  sight 
of  the  mountains  that  were  dear  to  me,  for  I  was  hill- 
bred  and  loved  them — so  that  I  could  have  ridden  on, 
carolling  like  a  lark  had  I  been  in  any  other  comjmny. 

But  Sir  Thomas  and  Nell  knew  what  was  in  my  heart, 
for  as  we  rode  up  Minnoch  they  looked  at  each  little 
thatched  cot-house,  and  asked  Avhat  it  might  be  called — 
which  was  most  amiable  of  them,  for  I  loved  to  tell  over 
the  well -kenned  names,  though  the  hearing  of  them 
could  not  possibly  have  pleasured  Nell  or  lier  father. 


212  THE   GRAY    MAN 

When  we  came  to  the  brow  of  the  hill,  along  the  side 
of  which  runs  the  track  to  the  Rowan  Tree,  I  begged  of 
thcni  that  I  might  ride  a  little  way  in  front,  in  order  to 
prepare  my  father  and  mother  for  their  reception.  Real- 
ly, I  went  because  I  did  not  wish  them  to  see  me  meet 
my  mother,  for  I  knew  that  I  was  bound  to  weep. 

But  it  fell  not  out  as  I  had  expected,  for  the  dogs  that 
were  about  the  farm  came  barking  and  youching  round 
the  corner,  and  I  saw  the  rough  head  of  our  herd  laddie 
looking  out  of  the  barn.  Then  he  scudded  across  the 
yard  like  a  hare,  and,  anon,  there  came  my  mother  forth, 
with  a  white  hood  upon  her  head,  and  girt  about  with 
her  apron — even  as  she  had  been  when,  as  a  boy,  I  used 
to  come  pelting  home  from  the  hills,  hungrily  looking 
for  a  piece  and  a  sleekening  drink  of  milk. 

So  she  came  down  the  little  loaning  to  meet  me,  nearly 
running  in  her  eagerness,  I  declare.  And  there,  at  the 
gate-slap,  I  leaped  down  from  Dom  Nicholas  and  took 
my  mother  about  the  neck,  greeting  like  a  great  silly 
bairn.  But  for  my  life  I  could  not  help  it.  Yet  I  need 
not  have  cared,  for  Nell  and  Sir  Thomas  were  admiring 
something  on  the  hills,  with  their  heads  close  together  ; 
and  over  my  shoulder  I  could  hear  him  pointing  out  to 
her  the  road  to  Straiten,  and  the  way  across  the  hills  to 
Girvan — so  they  observed  not  my  weakness. 

Then  came  Sir  Thomas  forward,  and  I  presented  him 
to  my  mother.  Whereupon  he  greeted  her  by  the  name 
of  Lady  Kirrieoch,  for  that  was  a  title  of  courtesy  to  a 
laird's  wife.  And  though  Kirrieoch  is  but  a  little  place, 
and  a  wild,  uncouth  holding,  yet  Sir  Thomas  walked  by 
my  mother's  side,  leading  his  horse  and  talking,  with 
his  hat  in  his  hand  all  the  while,  as  if  she  had  been  the 
Queen  of  Scots  herself. 

And  as  I  looked  steadfastly  away  towards  the  wind,  so 
that  they  should  not  see  that  I  had  been  weeping,  and 
also   to  let  the   air  dry  my  eyes  (for  such  weakness  is 


ON"   THE   HEARTSOME    HEATHER  313 

ridiculous  in  a  man),  Nell  came  riding  by  on  her  jial- 
frey.  She  cast  a  little  glance  about  her  to  see  that  none 
observed,  a  look  quick  and  timorous.  Then  she  leaned 
over  and  gave  me  a  light  little  pat  on  the  cheek  with  her 
hand — a  thing  she  never  did  before,  but  which  I  liked 
very  well. 

Then  came  out  my  father  to  meet  us  at  the  door,  and 
Sir  Thomas  took  him  by  the  hand  heartily. 

"You  and  I,  laird,"  he  said,  "are  not  so  young  as 
we  were  at  the  King's  muster  on  the  Boroughmuir,  and 
when  you  held  the  colors  of  Cassillis,  even  as  your  son 
does  this  day." 

"No,  Sir  Thomas,"  said  my  father,  "brittle  bones, 
slack  sinew,  thin-sown  hair  have  come  to  us  both  since 
that  day,  when  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  serve  with  you 
and  under  you." 

"Ah,  Kirrieoch,"  replied  the  Tutor  of  Cassillis,  "I 
envy  you  here  on  your  high  and  hearthsome  muirs, 
where  the  wild  -  cats  are  your  greatest  enemies,  and 
naught  more  dangerous  than  the  erne  ever  stoops  to 
slay." 

"It  is  a  gye  hard  struggle  at  times,"  replied  my  father, 
"with  Launcelot  away  and  only  two  old  bodies  left  with 
the  serving-men." 

"Ah,  bide  a  wee,"  said  the  Tutor.  "I  have  made  it 
my  business  to  see  that  in  a  little,  when  the  lad  has  won 
his  spurs,  you  shall  have  Launcelot  back  with  something 
worth  while  in  his  pouch,  and  a  handle  to  his  name  as 
good  as  the  lave  of  us." 

"I  am  glad  that  you  have  such  good  reports  to  give  of 
him,"  said  my  mother. 

"Oh,"  said  the  Tutor  of  Cassillis,  drolling,  "I  am  none 
so  sure  of  that.  He  has  enough  conceit  of  himself,  in- 
deed.    But  in  his  presence  we  will  not  say  more." 

And  then  my  mother  set  the  table  for  us  with  her  own 
hands,  though  Sir  Thomas  insisted  that  she  should  not ; 


214  THE   GRAY   MAN 

but  with  all  due  acknowledgment  of  his  courtesy,  my 
mother  continued  the  work  with  dignity  and  grace.  Be- 
sides which,  I  question  whether  at  the  moment  Susan,  the 
byre  lass,  was  dressed  fitting  to  come  into  a  room  Avhere 
there  was  the  company  of  great  folk. 

But  it  was  more  than  pleasant  to  see  Nell  rise  to  help 
my  mother  to  spread  the  cloth  and  lay  out  the  silver 
spoons.  We  had  the  best  of  muirland  fare — mutton  of 
the  sweetest,  black-faced  and  small,  toothsomely  fed  on 
the  sweet,  tender  grasses  that  nestle  among  the  heather- 
knowes.  Also  we  had  sweet  milk,  oaten  cake  of  a  rare 
crispness,  a  kebbuck  of  rich  cheese,  and  butter,  as  the 
Scriptures  say,  in  a  lordly  dish,  for  the  vessel  was  of 
silver,  and  had  upon  it  the  ancient  arms  of  the  Kennedies. 

The  Tutor  picked  it  up  and  looked  at  it. 

"These  are  the  bearings  of  my  great-grandfather  !"  he 
exclaimed,  much  astonished. 

"  Yes,"  said  my  father  ;  '^and  he  was  also  my  grand- 
father." 

"  Bless  me  !"  cried  the  Tutor  of  Cassillis ;  "  I  knew 
not  that  we  were  so  nearly  related." 

And  all  through  the  remainder  of  our  stay  he  called 
my  father  "cousin."  And  as  for  Mistress  Nell,  there 
was  no  end  to  her  merriment  on  the  subject. 

"Now  we  shall  figlit  more  than  ever,"  she  said,  "for 
we  Kennedies  always  fight  with  our  cousins.  And  I  must 
find  the  handle  of  the  hayrake  witli  which  I  used  to  beat 
my  cousin  Philip.  It  will  serve  excellently  for  drubbing 
Launcelot,  my  new  sweet  coz  !" 

At  last  we  rode  away,  and  Nell  Kennedy  kissed  my 
mother  lovingly  when  we  bade  farewell,  so  that  my  heart 
warmed  more  than  ever  to  the  lass. 

Waeheartedly  enough  we  left  the  little  white  housie 
behind  us,  sitting  blythsome  on  its  brae  above  the  white 
stones  of  the  burn.  And  in  my  imagination  to  this  very 
day,  whenever  I  am  away  from  the  Minnoch  for  long. 


OJSr    THE    HEARTSOME    HEATIIEIl  215 

rises  a  clear  picture  of  the  waterside  as  we  saw  it  that 
morning — a  wide  valley  filled  to  the  brim  with  sunshine 
and  the  stir  of  breathing  airs,  the  whaups  and  peesweeps 
beginning  to  build,  and  keeping  up  all  the  time  above 
our  heads  a  brave  welter  of  crying  and  the  whistle  of 
eddying  wings. 

"I  wonder  not  that  sometimes  you  grow  homesick/' 
said  ISTell  Kennedy.  ''When  you  are  distracted  and 
morose  I  shall  now  know  the  reason." 

So  we  came  in  due  season  to  the  house  of  Culzean,  and 
there  we  found  all  well,  with  James  j)laying  tennis  con- 
tentedly in  the  court,  and  Sandy,  up  at  the  stables,  act- 
ing the  big  man  and  giving  his  orders  as  large  as  my  lord. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

"WARM    BACKS    MAKE    BRAW   BAIRN'S 

It  was  tlie  morning  of  the  11th  of  May,  and  we  were 
on  the  morrow  to  take  our  journey  to  the  town  of  Edin- 
burgh. I  had  advertisement  the  night  before  that  I  was 
to  ride  to  the  town  of  Maybole  to  meet  John  Mure  of 
Auchendrayne,  and  on  my  master's  account  to  appoint  a 
tryst  with  him  at  the  Duppil,  not  far  from  the  town  of 
Ayr,  for  my  lord  desired  not  to  pass  through  that  place, 
knowing  that  many  of  the  faction  of  Bargany  abode  there. 
But  Sir  Thomas  ever  believed  that  Auchendrayne  was  of 
those  that  wished  him  Avell,  because  of  the  marriage  and 
of  all  that  had  passed  between  them. 

So  I  had  to  ride  on  this  mission  that  I  loved  not  over 
well.  But  I  had  naught  to  say.  For  whenever  I  spake 
to  the  Tutor  concerning  John  Mure,  he  would  clap  me 
on  the  head  and  say,  "  Ye  are  overcaref  ul  and  suspicious, 
Launcelot.  John  Mure  and  I  are  fathers  of  the  same 
pair  of  bairns ;  wherefore,  then,  should  we  not  be  as  one 
— even  as  they  ?" 

Poor  man — I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  tell  him 
of  the  happening  beneath  the  town -gate  of  Maybole, 
when  James  Mure's  wife  bade  farewell  to  Gilbert  Ken- 
nedy of  Bargany,  as  he  lay  there  dead  on  his  enemies' 
spears. 

So  at  early  morning  I  rode  as  I  was  bidden  to  Maybole 
to  meet  the  Laird  of  Auchendrayne,  who,  as  my  master 
knew,  had  some  business  there.  But  it  so  fell  out  that  I 
missed  him,  for  he  had  lodged  all  night  in  the  town  at 


WARM    BACKS    MAKE    BRAW   BAIRNS  217 

the  Black  House,  which  belongs  to  one  Kennedy  of 
Knockdone,  a  friend  of  his  and  of  the  Laird  of  Newark's. 

I  was  loath  to  ride  all  the  way  after  him  to  Anchen- 
drayne,  and  so  bethought  me  that  I  should  get  the  loan 
of  a  laddie  from  my  crony,  Dominie  Mure,  out  of  his 
school  at  the  foot  of  the  Kirkwynd.  My  way  led  me  by 
the  Green,  where  it  was  sorely  in  my  mind  to  try  a  stroke 
of  the  ball.  But  I  remembered  me  that  Sir  Thomas  bade 
me  be  soon  back,  that  I  might  be  ready  to  ride  with  him 
on  the  morrow's  morn  to  the  town  of  Edinburgh  by  Dup- 
pil  and  the  Ford  of  Holmestone.  So,  though  I  saw  some 
brisk  birkies  licking  at  the  ball,  one  of  them  being  Laigli- 
nosed  Jamie  Crawford  that  had  his  nose  flattened  with 
the  stroke  of  a  golf-ball  on  the  hills  of  Ayr,  I  refrained 
me  for  that  time  and  went  to  seek  a  boy. 

But  I  saw  none  on  the  Green,  saving  some  raggedy 
loons  playing  kick-ball,  whom  I  did  not  like  to  trust  with 
so  important  a  message.  I  went  on,  therefore,  to  the 
school-house.  And  as  I  went  it  cheered  me  to  think  on 
Dominie  Mure  and  his  humors,  for  he  and  I  had  been 
gossips  of  a  long  season. 

The  school-house  of  Maybole  was  a  curious  building 
tacked  on  to  the  rear  of  the  kirk,  with  vaulted  passages 
of  timber,  in  which  were  doors  which  could  on  occasion 
be  opened,  so  that  the  school  itself  might  be  used  as  an 
addition  to  the  kirk  should  the  latter  be  crowded.  But 
in  my  time  the  space  was  but  seldom  in  demand.  It  was 
an  age  of  iron,  and  men's  minds  craved  not  naturally  that 
which  was  peaceable  and  good.  The  old  papistry  had 
passed  away,  but  the  new  religion  had  not  yet  grown  into 
the  hearts  of  the  people. 

I  came  to  the  school-house  door.  The  noise  of  conning 
lessons  that  used  to  go  humming  all  along  the  Kirk  Ven- 
nel  was  louder  than  it  was  wont  to  be.  Indeed,  I  thought 
that  of  a  surety  Dominie  Mure  had  gone  as  far  as  the 
change-house  for   his  morning  glass  of  strong-waters. 


218  THE   GKAY   MAN 

wherein  I  did  that  worthy  man  an  injury.  The  domi- 
nie's Highhmd  pipes  lay  on  the  desk  before  him,  the  great 
drones  looking  out  like  eyes  at  the  scholars.  They  were 
the  recreation  of  his  leisure,  for  he  had  been  in  his  youth 
in  the  savage  north,  and  had  learned  to  be  no  ill-con- 
sidered performer,  even  in  the  country  of  pipes  and 
pibrochs. 

I  looked  within,  and  there,  mounted  upon  two  desks 
and  a  chair,  stood  the  dominie  with  his  head  through  a 
round  hole  in  the  boards  of  the  roof,  and  all  that  one 
could  see  of  him  convulsed  with  animation. 

The  bairns  below  were  in  a  great  consternation,  crying 
out  that  this  one  and  that  other  was  misbehaving — that 
Eobin  Gibb  was  pinching,  or  that  Towhead  Kennedy  was 
in  the  act  of  some  piece  of  villany  which  remained  un- 
expressed, for  the  obvious  reason  that  the  heavy  hand  of 
Towhead  Kennedy  had  prisoned  the  information  within 
the  mouth  of  the  tale-bearer. 

The  school  of  Maybole  was  an  apartment  nearly  square, 
with  a  dark,  well  -  hacked  oaken  writing  -  desk  running 
round  two  sides  of  it,  and  benches  set  cross-ways  on  the 
floor,  where,  when  the  peace  was  undisturbed  by  internal 
war,  the  bairns  conned  their  tasks  from  worn  copies  of 
the  Bible. 

At  the  far  end  of  the  school  was  a  wooden  bar  a  foot 
from  the  floor,  and  a  little  behind  it  another.  This  was 
called  the  hangman,  for  it  was  the  post  of  judgment  to 
unruly  boys,  who  were  called  ujoon  to  kneel  over  the  first 
bar  and  grasp  the  second,  thus  putting  themselves  into  a 
proper  position  for  the  operations  of  the  fiery  and  unten- 
der  little  dominie.  The  desk  of  the  master  had  a  frame- 
work behind  it,  in  which  were  half  a  dozen  birch  rods, 
carefully  kejjt  and  oiled,  even  as  I  keep  my  stands  of 
arms — for  the  callants  of  Maybole  have  ever  been  unruly, 
and  so  remain  to  this  day. 

Dominie  Mure  Avas  in  stature  the  least,  but  in  learn- 


WAEM   BACKS    MAKE    BRAW    BAIRNS  219 

ing,  I  can  well  believe,  the  greatest  of  dominies,  for  he 
was  never  without  two  or  three  scholars  in  the  Latin. 
It  was  whispered  by  the  malicious  that  he  had  been 
trained  for  a  clerk  in  the  old  days  of  the  Roman  Church, 
but  made  a  false  step,  and  so  had  to  turn  dominie. 
Taking  the  words  at  their  usual  meaning,  I  utterly  con- 
demn and  reject  this  lying,  malicious  explanation,  for 
Dominie  Mure  was  the  least  handsome  man  in  Carrick. 
He  was  little,  scarce  bigger  than  many  boys  of  twelve 
and  fourteen  who  sat  in  his  class  in  the  New  Testament 
— which  was  naturally  the  class  beneath  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

His  hair  grew  all  over  his  head  and  face,  gray,  Aviry, 
and  rough,  like  burned  heather.  Out  of  this  tangle  a 
pair  of  humorous  eyes  looked,  and  a  stout  nose  projected 
like  the  angle  of  an  overgrown  and  ruined  building. 
His  arms  were  long,  and  so  strong  that  he  could  lift  any 
lad  in  the  school  into  the  air  with  one  of  them  while  he 
gave  him  "paikie"  with  the  other.  So  fierce  and  fiery 
was  the  little  man,  that  no  one  of  the  great  stalwart 
loons  who  came  in  the  winter -time  dared  to  try  their 
pranks  upon  him.  He  would  fly  at  them  swift  as  the 
wild-cat  springs,  and  beat  half  a  dozen  black  and  blue 
before  they  had  time  to  rally. 

What  he  was  now  doing  with  his  head  through  the 
ceiling  I  could  not  well  imagine.  But  there  was  a  great 
noise  aloft  and  a  rushing  of  feet,  while  the  master  made 
desperate  dives  hither  and  thither,  like  a  man  in  deep 
water  and  not  well  able  to  swim. 

Beneath,  one  little  rascal  of  a  bare -legged  loon  rose 
from  the  seat  where  he  had  been  sitting  squirming  at 
his  copy. 

''The  dominie  is  lost !"  he  cried,  in  great  pretended 
alarm.  "  Oh,  sirs,  where  is  our  dominie  ?  Look  in  the 
ink-horns,  lassies !     Look  in  a'  your  pouches,  laddies  !" 

And  so  all  the  ill  -  set  vagabonds  rose  and  began  to 


220  THE   GRAY   MAN 

search  the  ink-horns,  the  dinner-wallets,  and  even  in  the 
rat  holes  for  the  master. 

But  at  this  moment  there  was  a  crash,  and  first  one 
and  then  another  pair  of  legs  appeared  dangling  through 
the  ceiling,  wildly  kicking.  The  head  of  the  dominie 
returned  through  the  hole  in  the  ceiling,  and  he  cau- 
tiously descended.  His  face  was  damp  with  perspira- 
tion from  his  exertions  aloft,  and  he  had  his  longest  and 
stoutest  birch-rod,  which  was  of  the  thickness  of  one's 
forefinger,  in  his  hand.  There  was  a  great  streak  of 
soot  across  his  nose — which  indeed  was  about  all  that 
there  was  for  it  to  cross,  the  rest  of  his  face  being  but 
a  gray  tangle  of  hair. 

Dominie  Mure  came  forward  to  where  I  stood  by  the 
door.  He  greeted  me  right  heartily,  and  not  the  less 
when  I  told  him  on  whose  account  I  Avas  there,  for  he 
had  often  been  summoned  over  to  drink  a  pint  with  Sir 
Thomas  at  the  inn  or  in  his  own  town-house,  because  my 
master  ever  loved  all  learned  men. 

"  Bide  a  wee,"  he  said,  "  till  I  attend  to  these  rascal 
loons.  They  climbed  up  through  the  hole  in  the  ceiling 
when  I  was  at  Deacon  Gilroy's  funeral,  to  get  the  store 
of  balls,  knuckle-bones,  chuckie-stones,  and  other  things 
the  bairns  throw  up  there.  I  kenned  well  they  would 
fall  through." 

So  the  dominie  took  a  much  thinner  and  suppler 
bundle  of  birch,  gave  it  a  draw  through  his  hand  and  a 
swish  or  two  in  the  air,  which  made  the  dangling  legs 
kick  more  wildly  than  ever— it  might  be  with  pleasure 
and  it  might  be  with  painful  anticipation. 

Dominie  Mure  walked  to  the  place  and  set  a  chair  for 
himself  to  stand  upon. 

"  Wha  belangs  thae  legs  ?"  he  asked  of  the  scholars. 

"  They  are  Tammy  Nisbett's,"  said  the  school,  with  one 
voice  ;  "  we  ken  by  his  duddy  breeks  !" 

"And  whose  limbs  are  these— to  whom  do  these  legs 


WARM    BACKS    MAKE    BRAAV    BAIRNS  221 

belong  ?"  he  continued,  pointing  to  certain  red  objects 
that  twinkled  in  frantic  endeavors  to  be  free. 

"Jock  Harrison's,"  answered  the  school,  without  a 
moment's  hesitation;  ''they  are  clouted  wi'  his  mither's 
auld  petticoat  !" 

Then  the  master  did  his  office  affectionately  upon  those 
parts  of  Tommy  Nisbett  and  Jock  Harrison  which  of 
their  own  accord  the  adventurous  loons  had  exposed. 
The  thwacks  resounded  through  the  school,  but  the  yells 
mostly  ascended  through  the  roof.  Then,  when  he  had 
finished  his  pleasure — for  I  saw  by  his  eye  it  was  no  un- 
welcome task — he  put  up  an  arm,  and  without  circum- 
spection pulled  the  squirming  urchins  through  the  rotten 
boards. 

'' Thomas  Nisbett,"  he  said,  severely,  ''yourfaitherisan 
householder.  He  shall  pay  for  the  damage  done  to  the 
ceiling  of  this  schule,  which  is  the  property  of  the  Session 
of  the  parish,  of  which  I  am  clerk.  And  your  faither  can 
take  the  price  out  of  your  breeks  himsel'  at  his  leisure." 

He  then  hauled  the  other  down  in  the  same  manner. 

"Jock  Harrison,  I'll  never  trouble  your  puir  mither 
about  the  siller  for  the  repairs.  She  has  enough  to  do 
with  ten  like  you.  But  I'll  e'en  pay  your  hurdles  the 
noo,  and  quit  your  mother  and  you  too,  at  the  one  settle- 
ment." 

Which  having  done,  he  laid  down  his  bundle  of  rods, 
dusted  his  hands,  and  commended  himself  to  me  to  know 
how,  and  in  Avhat  manner,  he  might  serve  my  master.  I 
told  him  that  if  he  would  write  a  letter  to  John  Mure  of 
Auchendrayne  to  bid  him  meet  with  Sir  Thomas  at  the 
Chapel  of  St.  Leonard's  by  the  sandhills  of  Ayr,  on  the 
morrow's  morn  at  ten  of  the  clock,  and  send  it  to  Auch- 
endrayne by  one  of  his  most  trustworthy  lads,  it  would 
be  no  small  obligation.  And,  furthermore,  that  I  would 
await  an  answer  here  in  Maybole,  having  other  business 
to  transact. 


323  THE   GRAY   MAN 

"  Good  faith.  Master  Launcelot,  I  will  do  that — and 
gladsomely/'  said  the  little  dominie. 

So,  having  brought  the  school  to  order  and  set  the 
classes  to  their  work,  he  squared  himself  at  his  desk,  and 
wrote  fairly  and  elaborately  as  I  told  him.  For  the  little 
man  prided  himself  on  his  penmanship — which,  indeed, 
Sir  Thomas  ever  said  was  better  than  that  of  any  law 
scrivener  in  Edinburgh. 

I  reminded  him  of  this,  and  Dominie  Mure  could  hardly 
contain  himself  for  pride.  How  strange  that  so  small  a 
thing  should  set  up  some  men ! 

Then,  when  he  had  finished  and  addressed  it  in  the 
Italian  manner,  he  called  out,  "  William  Dalrymjole, 
come  hither  !"  And  from  the  close-built  ranks  of  the 
older  scholars  at  the  wall-desks  a  plump-faced,  ruddy  boy 
arose. 

"This,"  the  dominie  said,  "is  the  son  of  a  widow 
woman,  and  a  steady  lad  that  will  truly  do  your  message 
and  bring  you  word  again  without  delay  or  falsehood. 
He  is  called  for  a  nickname  AVillie  Glegfeet." 

So  to  William  was  delivered  the  letter  and  sundry 
copper  coins  for  running  the  errand.  Whereupon  he  took 
up  the  Vennel  and  through  the  High  Street  on  the  way 
to  Auchendrayne  like  a  hunted  hare,  for,  as  his  name  im- 
ports, he  was  wonderfully  nimble  of  his  feet. 

Having  thus  delivered  my  message,  I  thanked  the 
dominie  very  heartily,  and  went  to  the  play  of  the  golf 
green  till  the  messenger  should  return. 

I  had  an  excellent  game,  but,  not  playing  with  mine 
own  clubs,  I  was  beaten  (though  not  at  a  great  odds)  by 
the  young  Laird  of  Gremmat,  whose  chin  was  hardly  yet 
better  of  the  cleaving  it  got  on  the  fatal  day  at  the  Lady's 
Carse.  But  this  interfered  naught  with  his  putting.  Now 
gaming  on  the  green  is  uncommonly  fretting  to  the  tem- 
per, and  more  especially  when  you  are  losing  with  a  man 
like  Gremmat,  who  cries  and  shouts  at  every  good  stroke 


WAEM   BACKS    MAKE    BRAW    BAIRKS  223 

of  his  own  and  dispraises  yours.  Yet,  owing  to  the  well- 
kenned  equality  of  my  temjier,  and  also  because  he  was 
not  yet  fully  recovered  of  his  wound,  I  did  not  clout  him 
over  the  sconse  with  my  cleek,  as  I  certainly  was  in  a 
great  mind  more  than  once  to  do. 

We  were  yet  hard  at  it,  and  the  afternoon  wearing  on 
apace,  when  I  saw  the  little  dominie  coming  towards  us 
with  the  boy  William  Dalrymple  by  his  side.  The  school- 
master held  the  letter  in  his  hand  and  gave  it  back  to  me. 

"  William  Dalrymple  says  that  he  found  not  the  Laird 
of  Auchendrayne  in  his  own  house,  and  has  therefore 
brought  back  the  letter." 

I  looked  at  it  a  moment,  turning  it  over  in  my  hand. 

"It  has  been  opened,"  said  I.  "  See,  the  wax  is  gone, 
and  there  are  finger-marks  within." 

"So,  indeed,  it  has,"  said  Dominie  Mure.  "Boy,  if 
you  have  opened  it  I  will  tan  you  alive,  outside  and  in  !" 

Whereat  the  boy  began  to  weep. 

"  I  have  said  what  I  was  told  to  say,"  he  cried,  and  for 
all  we  could  do  nothing  more  could  Ave  get  out  of  him, 
save  that  a  dark  man,  faced  like  an  ape  or  a  wild  beast, 
had  come  some  way  home  behind  him  and  sorely  terrified 
him.  So  we  sent  the  boy  back  to  his  mother,  and,  bid- 
ding farewell  for  that  time  to  the  dominie  and  to  young 
Gremmat,  I  fared  along  the  way  to  Culzean  to  make  me' 
ready  for  the  long  journey  of  the  morrow. 


CHAPTER    XXIX 
THE    MURDER    AMONG    THE    SAND-HILLS 

It  was  broad  day  and  a  pleasant  May  morn  when  my 
master  and  I  said  our  farewells  at  the  gate  of  Culzean. 
With  my  own  hands  I  had  saddled  for  Sir  Thomas  his 
war-horse.  But  he,  coming  down  arrayed  in  his  plain 
suit  of  dark  Flemish  cloth,  bade  me  take  him  back  to  the 
stable  and  get  instead  a  pacing  palfrey,  which  he  loved 
because  Marjorie  had  used  to  ride  it. 

Then  he  kissed  his  bairns,  for  the  lads  and  Nell  stood 
by  the  door  on  the  landward  side,  watching  us  with  ear- 
nest eyes. 

"Keep  the  castle,  James,"  he  cried,  ''till  I  come 
back  !" 

"Ay,"  said  Sandy,  "we  will  keep  it  for  you,  faither." 

For  Sandy  came  ever  to  the  forefront,  setting  himself 
naturally  before  the  slow  and  quiet  Jamie. 

Then  Nell  came  near  and  kissed  her  father.  But  she 
and  I  only  looked  the  one  at  the  other  as  friends  look, 
for  at  least  before  folk  we  did  not  so  much  as  touch 
hands. 

So  down  through  the  woods  Sir  Thomas  and  I  went 
sedately  and  quietly,  now  into  little  caller  blinks  of  morn- 
ing sunshine  which  glinted  straight  and  level  between  the 
trees,  and  anon  coming  out  upon  a  bare  knoll  as  into  a 
room  with  a  removed  and  spacious  ceiling.  For  there  at 
our  feet  was  the  plain  of  the  sea,  sparkling  and  blue,  be- 
yond it  again  the  hills  of  Arran,  and  to  the  south  the 
shoulder  of  the  Craig  of  Ailsa,  heaving  its  bulk  skyward 


THE   MURDER   AMONG    THE    SAND-HILLS  325 

like  a  monster  of  the  ocean  stranded  in  the  shoreward 
shallows. 

Yery  pleasant  was  my  master's  discourse  as  we  went,  of 
the  wonderful  peace  that  he  was  going  to  bring  upon  the 
land  of  Carrick  from  his  dealings  with  the  King  and 
Council  in  Edinburgh,  Specially  he  spoke  with  thank- 
fulness of  the  present  friendship  of  Auchendrayne,  of  the 
young  Bargany  who  should  for  long  be  under  tutors  and 
governors,  and  of  our  own  Earl,  now  tired  of  the  feud 
and  eager  for  a  lasting  peace. 

"  It  needs,"  said  he,  "  but  that  one  should  take  on  him 
all  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day,  and  carry  the  matter 
through.  And  I,  that  am  no  warrior,  but  a  quiet  man, 
dwelling  in  mine  own  house,  and  fit  only  for  daunering 
about  mine  own  fields,  may  be  able  to  do  more  in  the 
matter  than  many  battalions.  For  I  have  some  influence 
with  the  King — a  man  that  loves  grave  discourse  upon 
occasion." 

So,  pleasantly  talking  together  in  this  fashion,  speaking 
ever  the  kindliest  things  of  the  enemies  of  his  house,  and 
all  the  time  making  many  excuses  for  them.  Sir  Thomas 
kept  his  palfrey  at  the  amble. 

Presently  we  came  to  the  castle  of  Greenan,  which 
stands  on  a  sea  crag,  and  looks  right  bravely  over  the  Bay 
of  Ayr  and  down  upon  the  little  town  thereof.  It  belongs 
to  Kennedy  of  Balterson,  a  gossip  and  well-wisher  of 
Oulzean's. 

"  Kow,"  said  my  master,  "I  must  see  if  Balterson  is 
at  home.  I  think  truly  that  he  is,  for  there  is  a  reek 
coming  up  very  freely  from  the  lum.  Now  John  was 
ever  a  big  eater  and  a  long  lier  abed  in  the  mornings. 
What  a  pleasantry  if  I  should  raise  him  from  between 
the  blankets !  It  would  be  a  great  cast-up  all  the  days 
of  his  life." 

So  we  lighted  down  in  front  of  the  castle  yett.  I  tied 
the  horses  together,  and  walked  about  the  cliff  edge, 

15 


226  THE   GRAY  MAN 

looking  out  to  sea  and  over  the  sands  of  Ayr,  thinking 
of  many  things.  Mostly  my  thoughts  ran  on  the  treas- 
ure of  Kelwood,  and  whether  I  should  ever  win  it.  Of 
Nell,  too,  and  what  she  meant  by  patting  me  on  the 
cheek  when  we  met  my  mother,  of  the  Tutor's  words  to 
my  father  that  one  day  I  should  have  a  handle  to  my 
name  and  a  down -sitting  as  good  as  any.  Plenty  of 
pleasant  things  I  had  to  think  about  that  caller  morn  in 
May,  as  indeed  a  young  man  of  spirit  ought  to  have. 

And  it  was  not  very  long  before  Sir  Thomas  came 
forth  arm  in  arm  with  John  Kennedy  of  Balterson,  a 
grave  and  portentous  man  of  heavy  figure,  richly  arrayed, 
more  like  the  provost  of  a  town  than  a  country  laird. 
And  these  two  paced  up  and  down  the  narrow  terrace 
walk  of  Greenan  Castle,  turning  and  returning,  wheeling 
and  countering,  as  on  the  quarterdeck  of  a  ship.  But  of 
the  matter  of  their  discourse  I  know  nothing,  though  I 
guessed  it  to  have  been  concerning  the  making  up  of 
peace  between  the  feudal  enemies  in  the  lands  of  Carrick 
and  Kyle. 

It  was  near  to  ten  of  the  clock,  and  already  close  upon 
the  time  which  had  been  appointed  for  the  tryst  with 
Auchendrayne,  that  we  mounted  at  the  yett  of  Greenan 
to  ride  on  our  way  to  Holmestone  Ford. 

''  Sorry  am  I,"  said  my  master,  'Hhat  I  have  not  spoken 
a  word  with  John  Mure  ere  I  go.  But  I  know  his  loving 
desire  for  my  success,  and  he  well  knows  my  affection  for 
him." 

We  rode  down  from  the  castle  crag  of  Greenan,  and 
presently  came  out  upon  the  links.  These  are  here  all 
sandy,  cast  up  into  rounded  mounds  and  hills,  and  bitten 
into  by  the  little  pits  and  dungeons,  called  of  them  that 
play  at  the  golf  "bunkers." 

"  Launcelot,  ride  a  little  way  in  front.  It  approaches 
the  hour  of  noon,  and  I  would  do  my  devotion  and  med- 
itate a  little  alone,"  said  Sir  Thomas  to  me.     So  I  drew 


THE    MURDER   AMONG   THE   SAND-HILLS  227 

myself  a  bowshot  before  him,  riding  upon  Dom  Nicholas, 
and  taking  my  hat  in  my  hand.  I  rode  easily,  enjoying 
the  sea  breeze  that  cooled  my  brow  and  tossed  my  hair. 
I  wondered  if  ever  the  time  would  come  when  I  also 
should  be  thinking  about  my  religion  at  noon  of  a  fine 
heartsome  day.  It  seemed  a  strange  time  enough  for  a 
hale,  well-to-do  gentleman  to  set  to  his  prayers. 

Presently  I  saw  a  man  standing  upon  my  right  hand, 
somewhat  above  me,  upon  the  crown  of  a  sand-hill.  And 
he  raised  his  hand  as  one  that  cried  to  clear  the  course  in 
the  game,  so  I  thought  no  more  of  the  matter.  But  I 
looked  round,  thinking  perchance  that  he  cried  to  my 
master,  who  was  riding  with  bared  head  and  holding  his 
little  red  Testament  in  his  hand. 

Suddenly,  even  as  I  looked  at  him,  I  heard  the  sound 
of  shots  behind  me,  and,  turning  Dom  Nicholas,  I  saw  my 
master  reel  in  his  saddle,  with  white  blowing  puffs  of 
gunpowder  rising  all  about  him,  from  behind  the  desolate 
sand-hills  among  which  the  murderers  had  hidden  them- 
selves. Drawing  my  sword,  I  set  spurs  to  the  sides  of 
Dom  Nicholas  and  galloped  towards  them.  I  was  aware, 
as  I  rode,  of  my  master  lying  on  his  back  on  the  sand, 
and  his  palfrey  galloping  away  with  streaming  mane. 
A  little  black  crowd  of  men  stood  and  knelt  about  him, 
and  I  saw  the  flash  of  steel  again  and  again  as  one  and 
another  of  them  lifted  a  knife  and  struck. 

I  yelled  aloud  to  them  in  my  agony  and  bade  them 
wait  till  I  came.  So  they  hasted  to  make  front  against 
me,  some  of  them  leaping  on  their  horses  and  others 
biding  a  moment  to  put  as  it  had  been  booty  into  their 
saddle-wallets. 

It  was  Thomas  Kennedy,  called  the  Wolf  of  Drum- 
murchie,  that  withstood  me  as  I  came  thus  furiously 
upon  Dom  Nicholas.  With  him  I  first  crossed  swords, 
while  one  James  Mure  of  Auchendrayne  held  off  a  little 
warily,  watching  to  win  in  at  me  when  I  should  give  him 


228  THE    GRAY    MAN 

opportunity.  With  the  corner  of  my  eye  I  saw  the  same 
man  whom  I  had  at  jEirst  observed  making  the  warning 
signaL  He  held  up  his  hand  as  before.  Then  he  leaped 
on  a  horse  which  he  had  by  him  in  a  hollow  of  the 
sands.  He  was,  as  I  noted,  a  tall  man,  with  a  hat 
pulled  low  over  his  eyes,  and  he  wore  about  him  the 
long  gray  cloak  which  had  been  so  fatal  a  sign  to  us  of 
Cassillis. 

But  ere  I  could  see  more  I  was  in  the  thick  of  the 
murderers  with  my  sword.  I  struck  and  warded,  not 
knowing  what  I  did,  but  only  striking  with  the  anger  of 
blood  in  my  eyes,  till  I  gave  Drumraurchie  a  cut  on  the 
shoulder,  which  made  him  fain  to  shift  his  sword-arm. 
Then  I  wheeled  and  attacked  Cloncaird  as  furiously, 
who  was  a  great  mountain  of  a  fellow,  red  of  face  and 
brutal  of  heart.  And  I  had  readily  enough  done  for 
him,  too,  had  he  been  alone,  for  he  was  no  man  of  his 
weapons.  But  I  could  see  plainly  enough  three  or  four 
others  charging  pistols  and  training  of  hackbutts,  mak- 
ing ready  to  take  an  aim  at  me.  Whereupon  I  knew 
that  there  was  no  use  of  spending  my  life  for  naught. 
So,  with  my  sword  red  in  my  hand,  I  rode  over  the  sand- 
hills straight  at  the  tall  man  in  the  gray  cloak  ;  but 
such  was  the  effect  of  an  ill  conscience  that  he  took  his 
mantle  about  his  mouth  as  one  that  fears  being  known, 
and  set  spurs  to  his  horse.  I  had  not  pursued  far  Avhen 
I  came  to  the  top  of  a  dune  and  saw  a  little  cloud  of  cit- 
izens that  played  at  the  clubs  beneath  me.  To  them  I 
rode  as  hard  as  I  could,  with  the  murderers'  bullets 
splattering  here  and  there  and  throwing  up  little  spirts 
of  sand  about  me. 

"Murder!  Foul  murder '"  I  cried.  "Come  hastily, 
for  the  Tutor  of  Cassillis  is  done  to  death !" 

One  of  the  citizens  held  up  his  hand  to  me  as  if  to  bid 
me  be  silent,  for  it  was  the  putting  stroke  which  his 
neighbor  played,  and  of  its  kind  difficult,  so  that  men 


'^f^. 


V 


THE   MURDER  AMONG   THE   SAND-HILLS  229 

held  their  breath.  But  when  it  was  made  and  the  ball 
holed,  they  ran  to  me  quickly  enough,  for,  alas  !  murder 
was  so  common  in  those  days  that  men  took  little  notice 
unless  he  that  fell  was  one  who  was  some  kin  to  them- 
selves. 

Nevertheless,  they  hasted  when  I  cried  who  was  my 
master,  and  who  were  the  villains  that  beset  him.  For 
the  players  were  all  burghers  of  Ayr,  and  feared  that 
they  should  underlie  the  angers  of  the  Earl  and  of  the 
King  if  they  gave  not  ready  help  when  this  slaughter 
was  done,  as  it  were,  at  their  very  gates. 

Thus  very  quickly  we  came  to  my  dear  master.  He 
was  lying  alone  on  his  back  quietly  gazing  up  to  the  sky, 
the  red  blood  welling  from  many  ghastly  wounds.  All 
his  rich  plain  Flanders  cleading  was  torn  and  disar- 
ranged by  the  villains,  who  had  not  disdained  to  despoil 
after  that  they  had  murdered  him. 

Yet  there  was  some  life  left  in  him,  and  he  turned  his 
head,  smiling  as  if  thankful  (after  the  hateful  faces  of 
his  cruel  enemies)  to  gaze  at  the  last  upon  the  counte- 
nances of  friends.  He  was,  as  I  thought,  past  speech  ; 
but  he  looked  about  him  in  a  certain  curious  way  he 
had  when  he  had  lost  something,  and,  being  absent- 
minded,  knew  not  for  the  moment  what.  I  showed  him 
his  empty  purse  ;  but  it  was  not  that.  So  I  looked 
round  and  saw  nothing  put  some  discharged  pistols  ly- 
ing with  broken  lingels  abroad  upon  the  sand,  and  the 
little  book  he  had  been  reading  as  his  palfrey  paced  along. 

So  as  soon  as  I  showed  the  latter  to  him  he  put  out  his 
hand  for  it.  Then  he  held  it  a  moment,  kissed  it,  and 
gave  it  back  to  me. 

"  Be  a  good  lad,"  he  said,  quietly  and  composedly. 
"  Fear  not  for  me  ;  I  go  in  friendship  with  all  men.  Poor, 
poor  Cloncaird  !"  he  said,  thinking  of  one  of  his  murder- 
ers whom  he  had  always  befriended,  ''it  is  a  pity  for  his 
\^ife  and  young  family  !" 


230  THE    GRAY    MAN 

Then  he  closed  his  eyes^,  and  we  thought  he  had  already 
passed  from  us. 

But  presently  he  opened  them  again  and  looked  towards 
me. 

"  Be  kind  to  Nelly  !"  he  said,  smiling  so  kindly  at  me 
that  my  heart  nearly  broke.  He  shook  his  head  at  seeing 
my  grief  and  the  tears  running  down,  for,  indeed,  I  could 
not  withhold  them. 

"There  is  no  need,"  he  said,  reprovingly — "no  need 
for  the  like  of  that  ava'.  Be  a  brave  lad,  Launcelot,  and 
just  as  true  to  your  G-od  as  you  have  proved  to  me,  who 
have  been  a  loving  master  to  you  here  below.  I  am  only 
wae  for  the  poor,  misguided  lads  that  were  so  far  left  to 
themselves  as  to  lay  me  here  like  this." 

And  with  that  there  was  but  his  body  on  the  sands,  for 
the  spirit  of  the  gentlest  master  that  ever  a  man  served 
had  gone  its  way  to  its  own  Master. 

But  it  was  even  as  he  said — for  the  end  of  such  an  one 
there  is  no  need  of  tears. 

Then  I  stood  up,  and  the  terrible  thought  came  in 
upon  me  like  Solway  tide.  How — how  shall  I  take  him 
home  to  Helen  Kennedy — to  his  orphaned  bairns,  and  to 
the  sticken  house  of  Culzean  ? 


CHAPTER   XXX 

I    SEEK    FOR   VEN"GEANCE 

Ay,  well  might  I  say  it.  How  was  I  to  face  Nell  Ken- 
nedy— she  that  had  with  a  long,  kindly  look  committed 
her  father  into  my  keeping  that  very  morning  ?  Tenderly 
we  lifted  the  body,  which  in  life  had  been  so  noble  and 
now  was  so  pitifully  mishandled.  The  villains  had  de- 
spoiled the  dainty  garmentry,  torn  the  lace,  and  snatched 
the  jewelry  which  Helen  Kennedy  had  set  in  place  as, 
daffing  right  merrily,  she  prepared  her  father  (as  she  said) 
to  "gang  worthily  and  bonnily  before  the  King."  But  the 
King  he  went  before  was  One,  as  he  himself  would  often 
say,  that  looked  not  on  the  outer  appearance,  but  on  the 
heart.  And  concerning  that  last  Thomas  Kennedy  need 
have  had  no  fear  that  his  would  not  be  well  looked  upon — 
for  it  was  upright  and  kindly  and  true,  nor  did  it  ever 
move  to  the  hurt  of  any  man  in  all  this  world.  And  as  I 
took  him  up  I  saw  still  more  clearly  the  black-hearted  rage 
of  the  persecutors.  For  it  showed  as  manifestly  as  any 
other  fact  the  hellish  intent  of  the  murderers,  that  they 
had  taken  time,  even  while  I  was  in  the  act  to  come  at  them, 
to  despoil  my  master  of  his  purse  with  a  thousand  merks 
of  gold  therein.  Nay,  his  very  ring  of  fine  diamonds  they 
tore  from  his  finger,  and  his  golden  buttons  of  wrought 
goldsmith  work  were  riven  from  his  frilled  sark — one 
murderous  loon  snatching  one  thing  and  the  other  an- 
other, worse  than  brute  beasts  of  the  field. 

We  laid  him  gently  upon  the  back  of  wise  Dom  Nich- 
olas, that  all  the  time  stood  like  a  statue,  and  then  when 


232  THE   GEAY   MAN 

everything  was  ready^,  moved  graciously  and  soberly  away, 
as  though  he  had  been  well  aware  of  the  melancholy  bur- 
den he  bore.  Even  thus  we  brought  my  dear  master  to 
the  sea-terrace  of  Greenan  which  he  had  so  lately  left. 

And  when  John  Kennedy  of  Balterson  heard  the 
trampling  of  the  horse  on  the  flags  of  the  court  he  came 
out,  crying  loudly  and  heartily,  as  was  the  manner  of  the 
man. 

"  Wi'  what's  this,  Culzean  ?    Are  ye  back  again  ?" 

So  running  to  the  door  he  stood  with  his  table-knife 
in  his  hand  and  a  bit  of  his  mid-day  meal  thereupon, 
astonished  beyond  the  utterance  of  words. 

"  What's  this  ?  What's  this  ?"  he  cried.  "  Oh,  sirs, 
what  foul  wark  is  here  ?    Wha  has  done  this  ?" 

And  I  told  him  their  names — at  least,  so  far  as  I  knew 
them. 

"  Thomas  of  Drummurchie  !"  he  cried.  "  It  shall  not 
be  the  uplands  of  Barr  parish  that  shall  keep  ye  frae  the 
stark  sword  of  John  Kennedy  of  Balterson.  And  thou, 
Walter  Mure  of  Cloncaird,  that  has  so  often  sat  in  this 
house  of  the  Greenan,  by  the  grace  of  God  I  shall  lay 
thee  as  low  as  thou  hast  laid  my  friend  this  day !" 

But  I  begged  Balterson  to  think  of  something  else  than 
the  taking  of  revenge — of  which  all  in  good  time.  So 
presently  he  got  me  a  horse-litter  with  two  steady-going 
beasts,  and  I  walked  alongside  it  with  Dom  Nicholas 
arching  his  head  and  treading  softly  as  if  he  also  mourned. 
Thus  Ave  came  to  the  town  of  Maybole,  which  was  as  our 
own  place.  And  such  dule  and  lament  as  there  was  that 
day  saw  I  never  anywhere. 

For  the  town  had  loved  him  as  its  liege  lord,  far  more 
than  either  John,  Earl  of  Cassillis,  or  his  father  the  King 
of  Carrick.  Such  a  congregation  as  met  us  at  the  town 
gate  !  The  women  all  crying  the  cry  of  death,  the  men 
cursing  and  calling  vengeance.  The  minister  was  there  to 
pray,  and  all  classes  and  conditions  were  moved  to  tears. 


I   SEEK   FOR  VENGEANCE  233 

And  ere  we  were  well  past  the  Foul  Alley  there  were 
twenty  men  on  horseback  to  chase  the  murderers,  with 
John  Kennedy  of  Balterson  at  their  head.  But  they 
might  as  well  have  chased  the  wind,  for  by  this  time, 
with  the  relays  of  horse  that  had  been  ordered  for  them, 
they  were  safe  among  the  wild  Crauford  country  on  the 
borders  of  Kyle. 

Of  the  sad  home-coming  to  Culzean  itself  I  declare  I 
cannot  write  at  length.  At  the  entering  in  of  the  wood- 
land I  left  them,  and  upon  Dom  Nicholas  I  rode  drearily 
forward  to  do  the  bitterest  day's  work  of  my  life — to  tell 
Helen  Kennedy  that  I  brought  only  her  father's  corpse 
home  with  me. 

And,  as  the  chance  befell,  it  was  at  least  half  a  mile 
before  I  reached  the  home  gate  of  Culzean — just  where 
one  sees  for  the  first  time  the  gray  turrets  sitting  against 
the  dimpled  blue  of  the  incoming  tide — that  I  was  aware 
of  Nell  Kennedy  coming  light-foot  towards  me,  sing- 
ing a  catch  of  a  song  and  swaying  a  flourish  of  sweet 
may-blossom  daintily  in  her  hand.  I  have  never  rightly 
loved  the  white  hawthorn  since  that  day. 

But  as  soon  as  she  saw  me  she  stopped  her  song  and 
clutched  her  fingers  close  upon  her  palm,  for  the  flowery 
branch  had  fallen  at  her  feet. 

"  What  is  wrong  T'  she  cried,  when  I  came  near  to  her. 
But  I  could  not  answer  till  I  had  leaped  from  Dom  Nich- 
olas and  taken  her  by  the  hand.  She  turned  round, 
keeping  me  at  the  stretch  of  her  arm  so  that  she  might 
read  the  news,  good  or  bad,  in  my  eyes. 

"  Is  it  my  father  ?     Tell  me,"  she  said,  very  calmly. 

"Nell,  it  is  your  father,"  I  said,  as  quietly.  "They 
set  upon  him  and  hurt  him,  even  when  he  had  sent  me 
on  a  little  way  before  him  that  he  might  be  alone  at  his 
mid-day  meditation — " 

"  Is  he  dead — tell  me — is  he  dead  ?"  she  broke  in. 
But  I  answered  her  not ;  for  I  could  not.     So  she  knew. 


234  THE    GRAY   MAN 

and  in  an  instant  grew  as  pale  and  still  as  the  man  that 
was  passed  from  us. 

"  Take  me  to  him,"  she  said,  at  length.  And,  seeing 
that  I  still  hesitated,  she  said,  ''Do  not  fear  for  me.  I 
will  do  all  that  a  daughter  of  Culzean  should  do." 

"  They  are  bringing  him  hither  now,"  I  said.  "  I 
came  hasting  to  tell  you.  The  feet  of  the  horses  that 
carry  him  are  even  now  upon  the  brae." 

Then,  Avhen  I  had  told  her  all,  I  ended  the  tale  with  my 
tears  and  with  crying  out  that  which  was  in  my  heart : 
'•'  Oh,  would  to  God  I  had  died  instead  of  him  !" 

'' Launcelot,"  Nell  said,  Avith  a  wonderful  quiet,  "that 
is  useless,  and  not  well  said.  Be  comforted.  None  would 
have  done  one-tenth  so  much  as  thou  hast." 

"  Bless  you,  Nell  !"  I  said,  for  I  had  feared  greatly  she 
would  have  broken  upon  me  Avith  bitter  railing. 

It  was  by  the  great  oak-tree  which  sends  its  boughs 
over  the  road  that  we  met  the  bier,  and  the  horses  stoi^ped. 
Even  thus  Nell  Kennedy  met  her  father,  and  there  was 
not  a  tear  on  her  face,  but  only  a  great  sweet  calm.  She 
silenced  the  noisy  limmer  wives  that  went  behind  crying 
and  mourning  aloud.  So  in  this  manner  we  went  onward 
to  Culzean,  Nell  walking  on  one  side  of  the  bier  and  I  on 
the  other,  leading  Dom  Nicholas  by  the  bridle. 

And  lo  !  as  the  body  passed  the  drawbridge,  a  sudden 
gust  out  of  the  sea  snatched  his  knightly  pennon  from 
the  topmost  turret  tower  of  the  battlements  of  Culzean, 
which  was  held  a  freit  and  a  warning  by  all  the  folk  of 
Carrick.  But  though  the  master  had  come  home  to  his 
own,  yet  both  Culzean  and  I  were  now  masterless. 

In  due  time  we  gave  him  stately  funeral,  carrying  him 
forth  upon  a  day  so  calm,  so  breathless,  that  the  banners 
did  not  wave  as  they  swept  the  dust.  And  thereafter  all 
life  seemed  to  stop  when  we  came  home  again  to  the 
darkened  house.  James  and  Sandy,  the  two  youug  lads, 
played  no  more  in  the  tennis-courts,  but  went  about  with 


I   SEEK    FOR  VENGEANCE  235 

linked  arms  speaking  of  revenge.  But  little  David  abode 
with  Nell  and  went  forth  only  with  her,  clinging  win- 
somely  to  her  hand ;  for  we  kept  us  close  within  bars  and 
warded  ramparts,  with  the  drawbridge  up,  watching  the 
fruit  ripening  on  the  walls  of  the  orchard  of  Culzean  all 
that  splendid  summer  of  the  murder  of  our  lord  and 
master. 

Slowly  I  thought  over  many  things,  till  the  resolve  to 
bring  the  matter  to  a  head  came  masterfully  upon  me. 
From  the  Earl  as  Bailzie  of  Carrick  I  got  warrant,  accord- 
ing to  my  dead  master's  word  and  direction,  to  be  doer- 
in-ordinary  for  the  young  man  James,  who  was  now  the 
heir  of  Cassillis.  For  Earl  John  knew  that  Launce- 
lot  Kennedy  was  no  self-seeker;  also  they  that  stood 
about  had  told  to  him  the  Tutor's  last  words — that  I  was 
to  be  a  good  lad  and  to  be  kind  to  Nelly.  It  was  Adam 
Boyd  of  Penkil,  and  David  Somerville,  hosier  in  Ayr, 
who  told  him  this,  and  they  were  two  of  those  that 
played  golf  by  the  sand-hills  on  the  day  of  that  foul 
slaying  under  tryst. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 
THE     BLUE     BLANKET 

Yet,  because  I  needed  advice  and  had  none  to  give 
it,  I  rode  one  day  to  Edinburgh  to  see  Maister  Eobert 
Bruce.  I  found  the  whole  city  in  an  uproar.  There 
was  the  beating  of  drums  in  all  the  streets  and  closes, 
and  a  great  multitude  of  the  common  folk  crying  out 
"  For  God  and  the  Kirk  !"  Pikes  danced  merrily  along 
the  causeways,  and  good-wives'  heads  were  thrust  through 
all  the  port-holes  in  the  windings  of  the  stairs.  Their 
voices,  shrill  and  vehement,  kept  up  a  constant  deafen- 
ing clamor,  each  calling  to  her  John  or  Tam  to  "come 
awa'  in  oot  o'  that,"  or  bidding  them  "''not  to  mell  wi' 
what  concerned  them  not." 

"What  concern  is  the  glory  o'  God  o'  yours — you  that 
is  but  a  baker  in  Coul's  Close  ?"  I  heard  one  wife  cry  to 
her  man,  and  it  seemed  to  me  a  mightily  pertinent  ques- 
tion. 

At  last,  after  many  inquiries,  I  heard  how  the  Minister 
of  Edinburgh  had  bearded  the  King,  so  that  he  was  gone 
off  to  Linlithgow  in  great  indignation,  and  how  that  in  a 
day  or  two  Maister  Robert  Bruce  would  either  be  King  of 
Scotland  or  lay  his  head  on  the  block. 

Yet  the  minister  was  in  his  study  chamber  when  I  went 
to  seek  him,  reading  of  his  Bible  and  Avriting  his  sermon, 
as  quietly  as  though  there  had  been  no  King  in  Scotland 
— save,  as  it  might  be,  the  King  in  whose  interest  he  had 
so  often  bearded  King  Jamie  Stuart,  sixth  of  that  name. 

Eobert  Bruce  looked  up  when  he  saw  me. 


THE   BLUE   BLANKET  237 

"  Ah,  Lanncelot,"  he  cried,  more  heartily  than  ever  I 
had  heard  him,  "  ken  ye,  lad,  that  you  are  likely  to  be  at 
the  horn  for  commnning  with  a  wild  rebel  like  me  ?" 

''To  be  'at  the  horn'  is  no  uncommon  thing  in  Car- 
rick,"  I  replied,  "and  makes  little  difference  either  to 
the  length  of  a  man's  life  or  the  soundness  of  his  sleep. 
I  have  been  at  the  horn  ever  since  I  was  eighteen  years 
of  my  age." 

"Well,  Launcelot,"  he  said,  soberly,  "so  it  has  turned 
out  even  as  I  said.  I  know — I  know.  It  is  not  in  man 
that  walketh  to  direct  his  steps.  But  I  saw  ye  were  all 
'fey'  at  Culzean." 

Then  I  told  him  the  purpose  of  my  coming  all  the  way 
to  Edinburgh  to  see  him. 

"  What  I"  he  said,  "ye  have  never  come  so  far  only  to 
have  sj)eech  of  jioor  Kobert  Bruce,  that  was  yesterday 
Minister  of  Edinburgh,  and  to-day  is,  I  fear,  doomed  to 
lay  his  head  on  the  hag-clog  ?" 

I  told  him  it  was  even  so,  and  that,  being  the  man  of 
wisest  counsel  I  had  ever  known,  I  would  have  gone  ten 
times  as  far  to  have  his  friendly  advice. 

"Ay  me,"  he  said,  sadly,  "wae  is  the  man  that  has 
such  a  rumor  and  report  of  wisdom,  yet  cannot  counsel 
himself  what  he  should  do  in  his  own  utter  need." 

But,  for  all  that,  he  went  over  everything  that  had 
happened  in  Carrick,  with  a  clearness  most  like  that  of  a 
lawyer  when  he  sets  in  order  his  case  before  the  judge. 
Then  he  sat  a  long  while  silent,  with  his  finger-tips  drum- 
ming idly  upon  his  writing. 

"So  Bargany  is  dead," he  said,  at  last.  "He  was  the 
only  considerable  man  of  his  own  faction.  Who  is  there 
to  succeed  him  ?" 

"But  a  child!"  said  I;  "one  that  plays  with  pup- 
pets." 

"  As  do  we  all,  Launcelot,"  said  Maister  Bruce,  smiling 
on  me. 


238  THE    GEAY    MAN 

"And  after  liim  in  that  faction^  of  his  own  house  and 
kin,  who  comes  ?"  he  asked. 

"There  are  none  besides  the  Tutor's  murderer,  Thomas 
of  Drummurchie,  and  Benane,  his  brother  ;  but  he  is  a 
deboshed  man,  and  of  no  account,"  I  made  answer,  not 
seeing  his  drift. 

"  Who  leads  them,  then  ?" 

"John  Mure  of  Auchendrayne  is  their  only  consider- 
able man,  and  he  has  waxen  great  and  greater  within 
these  months." 

The  minister  nodded  his  head,  and  sat  still,  as  one  that 
considers  all  sides  of  a  question. 

"And  of  you  that  stand  by  the  gold  and  blue — who 
remains  ?"  he  went  on. 

I  told  him  but  John,  Earl  of  Cassillis,  and  his  brother 
the  Master. 

"And  in  whose  friendship  is  the  Master  ?"  he  asked. 

"  In  our  country  of  Carrick  he  has  an  auld  friendship 
with  Auchendrayne,  and  a  good -going  feud  with  the 
Earl,  his  brother  ;  but  recently  he  has  taken  up  with 
the  Lord  of  Garthland  in  Galloway  and  married  his 
sister." 

"  Tell  him  from  me,"  said  the  minister  of  Edinburgh, 
"  to  bide  close  in  Galloway  and  get  him  bairns  in  peace. 
For  gin  he  comes  back  to  Carrick  of  a  surety  his  head 
shall  be  next  to  fall." 

"■  And  why  so  ?"  said  I. 

"Because,"  said  Maister  Eobert  Bruce,  "John  Mure 
designs  that  there  shall  be  no  power  in  Carrick  nor  in 
the  Shire  of  Ayr  besides  his  own  and  that  of  the  Earl — 
till  he  get  time  to  have  him  also  killed.  I  tell  you 
Auchendrayne  hath  the  brains  of  any  three  of  you." 

"  And  of  the  treasure  of  Kelwood,  what  ?"  said  I. 

"That,"  said  the  minister,  meditating,  "is  a  little 
forth  of  my  province.  But,  if  ye  will  know,  I  think  it 
is  in  the  keeping  of  some  of  Auchendrayne's  tools.    And 


THE  BLUE  BLANKET  239 

I  advise  yoU;,  ere  ye  look  for  revenge,  to  go  seek  for  it."' 
I  was  silent,  for  I  hoped  that  he  would  tell  me  yet 
more. 

"  The  treasure  of  Kelwood  will  lead  you  to  your  aim. 
I  think  ye  will  find  that  the  same  hands  which  reft  it 
away  are  red  with  the  blood  of  your  master.  And  one 
thing  I  am  sure  of — that  within  that  treasure-chest  lie 
your  love,  your  land,  and  your  lordship  !" 

I  asked  him  what  he  meant,  but  he  would  not  tell  me 
more  clearly.  Only  this  he  said,  speaking  like  them  that 
have  the  second-sight : 

''James  Stuart  being  what  he  is — a  treasure-seeker — 
and  John,  Earl  of  Cassillis,  being  what  he  is — a  treasure- 
gripper — if  ye  find  the  kist,  ye  have  them  both  in  your 
hand.  And  therein  (or  I  am  a  false  prophet)  lie,  as  I 
say,  your  love,  your  land,  and  your  lordship." 

Then  I  asked  him  if  he  had  any  counsel  to  give  me  ere 
I  went. 

"Be  brave,"  he  said;  "read  your  Testament.  Tell  no 
lies.  Carry  no  tales.  Seek  carefully  for  the  man  that 
wears  the  gray  cloak,  and  then  for  the  man  that  runs 
like  a  beast  and  carries  the  knife  in  his  teeth.'' 

He  went  to  the  window  as  one  that  has  spoken  his 
last  word. 

"Hear  ye  that?"  he  said.  "That  is  the  warrant  for 
my  heading." 

There  circulated  a  great  crowd  of  people  without, 
apprentices  and  such  like  mostly,  with  here  and  there 
among  them  a  decent,  responsible  man  of  the  trades. 
They  were  singing  at  the  utmost  pitch  of  their  voices  : 


"We'll  hae  nae  mair  Jeems  Davie-son, 
Davie's  son — Davie's  son  ! 
We'll  gie  his  loons  the  spavie  sune, 

Spavie  sune,  spavie  sune. 
An'  the  dcil  may  tak  Jeems  Davie-son." 


340  THE   GRAY   MAIST 

"They  might  as  well  shear  my  head  at  once  as  sing 
that  song/'  said  Maister  Eobert  Bruce.  "  There  is  noth- 
ing that  James  Stuart  likes  so  ill  as  to  be  called  the  son 
of  Davie,  unless  it  be  the  man  who  upholds  the  right  of 
private  judgment  \" 

"  Ah/'  he  cried  again,  "  the  Blue  Blanket — this  waxes 
serious.     I  must  put  on  my  gowD  and  sally  forth." 

Then  up  the  Canongate  there  came  a  great  crowd  of 
citizens,  all  marching  together  and  crying,  "  God  and 
the  Kirk  !  God  and  the  Kirk  !"  And  in  the  midst 
there  was  borne  the  famous  flag  that  has  ever  staggered 
in  the  front  of  a  bicker,  foretelling  storms  and  the  shak- 
ing of  thrones — the  Blue  Blanket  of  the  trades  of  Edin- 
burgh. 

Eobert  Bruce  drew  his  black  Geneva  gown  about  him, 
and  taking  his  little  Bible  and  his  oak  staff  in  his  hand 
he  went  out.  As  he  stood  forth  upon  his  step  he  was 
hailed  with  shouts  of  joy  and  rejoicing. 

"  Hearken  Maister  Bruce  !  Hear  the  minister  !  God 
and  the  Kirk  !     Doon  wi'  Jeemie  Fat-Breeks  !" 

And  the  Blue  Blanket  wavered  and  waggled,  being 
borne  this  way  and  that  by  the  press.  All  about  the 
skirts  of  the  crowd  and  down  the  closes  angry  drums 
were  beating,  and  a  hundred  idle  'prentices  thundered  on 
great  folks'  doors  and  garred  the  window-panes  rattle  on 
the  causeway — which  was  a  sin  when  glass  was  so  dear, 
and  to  be  seen  in  so  few  places  besides  the  citizen  houses 
of  the  great. 

'^Men  of  Edinburgh,"  cried  Bruce,  "hear  your  minis- 
ter !  Wherefore  this  tumult  ?  I  bid  you  to  depart  quietly 
to  your  homes.  We  have  a  difference  with  the  King,  it 
is  true  ;  but  let  us  who  are  the  servants  of  God  and  of  the 
Kirk  of  Scotland  settle  our  own  affairs  with  the  King. 
What  is  your  concern  in  the  matter  ?" 

But  the  more  he  spoke  of  the  King  the  more  loud  grew 
the  tumult. 


THE   BLUE    BLANKET  241 

''  God  and  the  Kirk  !  God  and  tlie  Kirk  !"  they  cried, 
and  the  Blue  Blanket  waved  higher  than  ever,  being  held 
up  by  one  man  standing  upon  the  shoulders  of  other  two. 

''Ay,  ay,  even  so  ;  it  is  a  good  cry,"  said  the  minister  ; 
*'but  it  would  set  you  better  to  be  a  little  more  ready  to 
obey  both  God  and  the  Kirk  at  other  times.  The  most 
part  of  you  know  not  for  what  cause  ye  are  come  to- 
gether. Ye  want  to  roll  your  minister's  head  in  the 
dust—" 

"  No,  no  !"  cried  the  throng  ;  "  we  will  keep  you  safe 
or  know  the  reason  why." 

'^Depart  —  scatter  instantly  to  your  firesides!"  cried 
Bruce.  "  And  so  ye  will  the  better  serve  the  Kirk  of 
Scotland  and  me,  her  unworthy  servant." 

And  with  this  he  motioned  to  them  with  his  hands, 
dismissing  them.  So  great  was  his  power  that  they  went, 
scattering  like  peet  reek  on  a  windy  day.  In  a  minute  or 
two  there  was  not  one  of  them  to  be  seen  on  the  street. 
The  minister  and  I  were  left  alone. 

"  What  think  ye,  Launcelot  ?  Why  stand  ye  so 
moody  ?"  my  companion  said  to  me. 

I  told  him  that  I  liked  not  much  to  tell  him ;  that  it 
was  no  fitting  thought  to  tell  a  minister. 

"  Say  on,"  he  said.  "  I  have  listed  to  strange  speeches 
in  my  time." 

"Well  then,  sir,"  I  made  answer,  "I  was  thinking 
what  a  pity  to  see  so  many  limber  lads  with  stark  pikes  in 
their  hands,  and  nobody  a  penny  the  worse  !  I  would  to 
God  I  had  them  in  Carrick.  John  Mure  of  Auchen- 
drayne  would  hear  news  of  it  right  briskly." 

The  minister  clapped  me  on  the  back. 

"  Ah,  Launce,  it  will  be  a  strange  heaven  that  you  win 
to  unless  you  mend  your  ways.  Ye  are  nocht  but  a  wild 
Carrick  savage.  But  ye  maun  e'en  dree  your  weird, 
young  Launcelot,  and  auld  Eobert  Bruce  maun  dree  his. 
Fare  ye  weel !" 

16 


243  THE   GEAY  MAN 

So  we  parted  there  on  the  steps  of  liis  own  house. 
And  with  that  I  betook  me  to  horse,  and  forth  through 
the  turbulent  city  that  could  yet  make  so  little  of  its 
tulzies;  and  as  I  went  I  thought,  "Lord!  Lord  !  for  one 
hour  of  Gilbert  Kennedy  and  me  to  show  them  a  better 
way  of  it;  or  even  Eobert  Harburgh!  And  it  would  be 
like  capturing  heaven  by  violence  to  enter  Holyrood 
House  in  the  way  of  stouthrief  and  spulzie  I" 

But  I  only  thought  these  things,  without  intent  to  do 
them,  for  I  am  a  King's  man  and  peaceable  —  besides 
which,  I  had  but  lately  spoken  good  words  to  a  minister 
of  religion.  Nevertheless,  what  a  booty  Avould  there  not 
have  been  in  that  palace  at  the  Canongate  foot !  Not 
that  I  would  lay  hand  upon  a  stiver  of  it,  even  if  I  got 
the  chance,  but  the  thought  of  it  was  marvellously  re- 
freshing, I  own. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

GEEEK    MEETS    GREEK 

Then"  as  I  journeyed  south  I  saw  my  work  set  out  like 
a  perspective  before  me.  As  the  minister  had  said,  the 
treasure  of  Kelwood  and  the  deatli  of  my  master  hung 
by  one  string.  The  House  of  the  Red  Moss  was  very 
near  to  the  sand-hills  of  Ayr,  and  there  could  be  little 
doubt  that  the  hand  which  had  sped  the  bloody  dag- 
ger was  the  hand  that  had  brought  my  master  to  his 
death. 

As  the  drawbridge  clanged  down  for  me  to  ride  once 
more  within  the  house  of  Culzean,  and  lazy  Gib  stretched 
himself  to  cry  that  all  was  well,  I  took  a  resolve.  It  was 
to  tell  Helen  Kennedy  all  that  I  knew,  and  ask  her  judg- 
ment upon  it — though  I  have  small  notion  (for  ordinary) 
of  women's  discretion.  So,  when  the  greetings  were  said, 
I  took  my  opportunity  and  came  to  her  when  she  was 
walking  in  the  garden  apart,  where  the  apple-trees  grow. 
When  she  had  heard  all,  she  said,  "Launce,  you  and  I 
must  ride  to  Auchendrayne." 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  and  what  then  ?  Shall  we  bid  Grieve 
Allison  have  our  coffins  in  readiness  against  our  return 
feet  first  ?" 

"  We  shall  see  my  sister  Marjorie,"  she  said,  without 
heeding  my  words,  "and  take  counsel  with  her.  They 
will  not  kill  us  within  the  house  of  Auchendrayne  while 
she  is  alive." 

"I  believe  not  that  we  shall  even  have  the  chance  of 
speech  with  her,"  I  replied  ;  "  but  we  may  at  least  go  and 


244  THE    GKAY   MAN 

see.  Whether  we  ever  win  back  to  Culzean  is  another 
matter." 

But  Nell  Avas  mainly  set  on  it,  and  I  did  not  counter 
her,  it  being  so  that  I  was  to  ride  in  her  company — for, 
indeed,  I  myself  desired  greatly  to  see  the  famous  tower 
where  dwelled  a  man  so  potent  and  so  evil.  The  next 
day  it  hapjjened  that  I  went  to  Maybole  and  found  mine 
ancient  friend,  Kobert  Mure,  dominie  and  Session  Clerk 
of  the  town.  He  sat  gloomily  in  his  school  and  bowed 
his  head  on  his  hands,  for  he  had  never  looked  up  nor 
taken  pleasure  in  life  since  they  laid  my  master  in  the 
burying-place  of  his  folk  within  the  kirkyaird  of  Maybole. 
The  school  hummed  about  him,  but  he  took  little  heed. 
His  old  alertness  seemed  quite  gone  from  him.  And 
when  I  came  in  he  only  lifted  his  head  a  moment  and 
nodded,  falling  back  again  at  once  into  his  new  melan- 
choly. His  pipes  lay  beside  him  indeed,  but  so  long  as 
I  was  there  I  did  not  see  him  recreate  himself  upon  them 
— as  had  been  his  ordinary  wont,  playing  pibrochs  for  his 
scholars'  delectation  at  every  pause  in  the  day's  occupa- 
tions. 

"Dominie,"  said  I,  ''there's  one  thing  I  want — " 

"Say  on,"  said  he,  briefly,  not  looking  at  me. 

"I  want  speech  with  William  Dalrymple,  the  lad  that 
carried  the  letter  to  Auchendrayne  the  day  before  my 
lord's  death." 

"  Of  what  good  is  the  like  of  that  ?"  said  he.  "  Will 
all  the  speech  in  the  world  bring  back  him  that's 
gane  : 

"No,"  said  I,  going  nearer  to  him  and  speaking  under 
my  breath,  "but  it  may  help  us  to  his  murderer." 

"Eh,  what?"  said  the  master,  sitting  up  as  gleg  as  a 
cat  at  a  mouse-hole.  "'His  murderer,'  said  ye?  Are 
not  Thomas  of  Drummurchie  and  Mure  of  Cloncaird  his 
declared  murderers  ?" 

"Ay,"  said  I,  "exactly — his  'declared'  murderers.' 


7) 


,^;^^^^^^;J^^,  ; 


"THE    SCHOOL   HUMMED    ABOUT    IIIM,    BUT    HE    TOOK    LITTLE 

HEED  " 


GREEK   MEETS    GREEK  245 

"  Speak  either  less  or  mair — let  us  hae  done  wi'  para- 
bles !"  quoth  the  dominie. 

"  What  think  ye,"  said  I,  ''  of  the  Gray  Man  that  stood 
behind  and  waved  them  on,  like  a  pilot  guiding  a  ship 
into  a  port  ?  I  mean  the  man  that  threw  the  dagger  into 
the  Red  House.  I  mean  the  man  that  let  loose  the  scum 
of  the  Tolbooth  on  us  of  Cassillis  the  day  of  '  Clear  the 
Causeway.'" 

"And  who  might  he  be?"  said  the  dominie,  breaking 
in  upon  rae,  for  some  of  these  things  he  was  not  ac- 
quainted with. 

"  First  bring  in  the  laddie,"  said  I. 

So  Dominie  Mure  brought  Dalrymple  into  a  jDrivate 
place,  and,  having  dismissed  the  school,  we  proceeded 
faithfully  to  examine  him.  I  asked  him  to  tell  me  all 
that  had  befallen  that  fateful  day,  from  the  time  I  had 
seen  him  run  up  the  Kirk  Vennel  to  the  time  when  he 
came  to  me  again  upon  the  green  at  my  play  and  making 
a  poor  hand  of  it  with  another  man's  clubs. 

The  boy  began  his  tale  well  enough,  like  one  that  says 
a  well-learned  lesson ;  but  in  the  very  midst,  when,  some- 
what severely,  I  bade  him  say  over  again  what  he  had  al- 
ready said,  he  broke  out  into  a  passion  of  weeping  and 
begging  us  to  have  mercy  upon  him — for  that  he  was  but 
a  laddie  and  had  been  commanded  upon  pain  of  his  death 
to  tell  the  tale  which  he  had  told  us  at  the  first. 

So  we  bade  him  to  speak  freely,  to  tell  no  lie  any  more, 
and  all  would  yet  be  Avell.  So  he  told  us  how  he  had 
gone  fleet-foot  to  Auchendrayne,  and  had  there  found 
John  Mure,  the  master  thereof,  sitting  in  the  great 
chamber  with  Walter  of  Cloncaird.  He  described  how 
that  he  had  given  the  letter  into  the  laird's  hands,  even 
as  he  had  been  bidden.  When  Mure  had  read  it  he 
handed  it  over  to  Cloncaird.  But  he,  swearing  that  he 
was  not  gleg  at  the  parson-work,  bade  Auchendrayne  to 
read  it  aloud  for  him.     Which,  when  he  did,  they  looked 


246  THE   GRAY    MAN 

long  find  strangely  at  one  another.  And  at  last  John 
Mure  said,  ''I  should  not  wonder,  Cloncaird,  but  some- 
thing might  come  out  of  this/' 

Then  the  boy  told  how  they  had  gripped  him,  set  a 
naked  dagger  to  his  throat,  and  afterwards  made  him 
swear  to  take  the  letter  back  to  them  that  sent  him,  say- 
ing that  he  had  gone  to  Auchendrayne,  but  had  returned 
without  seeing  the  laird. 

"Say,"  said  Mure,  "that  the  servant  bade  you  take 
back  the  letter  unopened,  because  that  his  master  was 
afield  and  he  knew  not  when  he  would  be  home.  So," 
concluded  the  boy,  "  even  thus  I  did  !  And  this  is  all 
the  truth,  or  may  God  strike  me  dead !" 

The  dominie  and  I  looked  each  at  the  other  in  our 
turns. 

"  The  Gray  Man  himself,"  said  I. 

"  The  Black  Deil  himsel'  !"  said  he. 

"  We  will  exorcise  him,  black  or  gray  !"  cried  the 
dominie.  "I  am  going  direct  to  the  bailies  and  elders 
to  tell  them  that  this  school  has  vacation  till  it  pleases 
me  to  take  it  up  again." 

So  he  went  out,  and  I  waited  alone  with  the  boy,  Will- 
iam Dalrymple,  whose  rosy  and  innocent  face  was  all  be- 
blubbered  with  weeping, 

I  slapped  him  on  the  shoulder  and  bade  him  take  heart 
because  he  had  found  friends.  Then  I  also  told  him  that 
on  the  morrow  he  must  come  with  me  to  the  Earl  of  Cas- 
sillis,  and  by-and-by  it  might  be  to  the  King  himself. 

"Will  the  dominie  come  too?"  the  boy  asked,  very 
anxiously. 

So  when  I  told  him  that  he  would  he  seemed  more 
satisfied,  and  asked  leave  to  go  home  to  his  mother. 

I  had,  indeed,  something  to  tell  Nell  Kennedy  that 
night  when  I  rode  home  from  Maybole.  And  upon  the 
head  of  it  we  two  sat  long  in  talk,  and  were  more  than 
ever  set  on  riding  to  Auchendrayne.     But  first  we  de- 


GREEK    MEETS    GREEK  247 

cided  that  the  dominie  and  I  should  carry  William  Dal- 
rymple  to  the  Earl,  that  he  might  certify  to  him  what  ho 
had  already  testified  to  us  at  the  school-house  in  the  Kirk 
Vennel. 

But  on  the  morrow  we — that  is,  the  dominie  and  I — 
had  it  set  to  ride  to  Cassillis  by  way  of  Mayhole.  On  the 
way  we  came  to  the  little  hut  of  the  Widow  Dalrymple, 
for  William  was  a  town's  bursar,  and  so  got  his  learning 
from  the  Session  as  a  poor  scholar.  The  door  was  shut, 
and  a  neighbor's  wife  cried  to  us  that  both  the  boy  and 
his  mother  had  gone  on  to  Cassillis  before  us.  So  we 
rode  forward.  Yet  we  must  have  missed  them  on  the 
way,  for  when  we  came  to  the  castle  yett  there  was  no- 
body there  before  us,  and  the  Earl  himself  had  ridden 
forth  to  the  hawking  by  the  waterside. 

Then  came  out  to  us  foolish  Sir  Thomas  Tode,  with 
his  long  story,  which  began  as  usual  Avith  the  Black 
Vault  of  Dunure,  and  was  proceeding  by  devious  ways 
when  his  wife  came  round  the  corner — whereat  right 
briskly  he  changed  his  tune. 

"  And  as  I  was  saying,"  he  said,  "  on  Tuesday  seven 
nights  we  had  a  shrewd  frost  that  nipped  the  buds." 

"  It  is  as  well  for  you,  old  dotard !"  cried  his  wife, 
listening  a  moment.  ''I  had  thought  ye  were  at  your 
auld  tricks  again." 

So  we  went  in,  and  were  busily  partaking  of  the  cheer 
of  Mistress  Tode  when  we  became  aware  of  the  noise  of 
altercation  without. 

"  Save  us,"  said  the  cook,  "  it  is  a  mercy  that  neither 
my  lord  nor  my  lady  are  within  gate,  wi'  a'  that  narration 
of  noise  outbye  !     What  can  it  be  at  a'  ?" 

And  she  went  out  to  inquire. 

But  if  the  disturbance  was  loud  before,  it  certainly  be- 
came ten  times  worse  when  Mistress  Tode  disappeared. 
I  got  up  to  look,  and  the  dominie  followed  me.  We  saw 
a  tall,  gray-haired  woman  stand  upon  the  causeway  of 


248  THE   GRAY   MAN 

the  courtyard,  with  one  hand  on  her  hip,  and  with  the 
other  tossing  back  the  straying  witch  locks  from  her 
brow. 

•^"^  Where's  my  boy,  Mistress  Tode  ?"  cried  the  new- 
comer, fiercely,  to  our  friend  the  cook,  who  stood  upon 
the  steps.  "  What  hae  ye  dune  wi'  my  laddie  at  the 
black  house  of  Cassillis  ?  He  left  his  hame  to  come  here, 
by  command  o'  my  lord  and  young  Launce  of  Culzean, 
at  five  this  morning.  An'  Jock  Edgar  met  him  set  on  a 
pony  between  twa  men  on  horseback,  and  he  declares 
that  the  puir  lad  Avas  greeting  sair.  What  hae  ye  dune 
wi'  him,  ye  misleared,  ill-favored  Tode  woman  that  ye 
are  ?' 

"  Weel  ken  ye,  Meg  Dalrymple,"  cried  Mistress  Thomas 
Tode,  "  that  I  wadna  steal  ony  chance-gotten  loon  of 
yours.  Faith  na,  I  wadna  fyle  my  parritch-spurtle  on  his 
back.  We  shelter  nae  lazy  gaberlunzie  speldrons  in  the 
house  of  Cassillis.  There  is  enough  rack  and  ruin  about 
the  countryside  as  it  is,  withoot  gatherin'  in  every  gypsy 
brat  and  prowling  nighthawk  to  its  walls.  Gin  ye  come 
here  to  insult  my  master,  a  belted  Earl,  I'll  e'en  set  the 
dowgs  on  ye,  ye  gruesome,  ill-tongued  limmer  woman  !" 

I  saw  that  this  was  to  be  altogether  another  kind  of 
tulzie  from  those  clattering  bickers  of  the  sword-blades 
that  I  knew  something  about.  So  I  signed  to  the  domi- 
nie to  be  silent,  for  here  of  a  surety  were  two  foemen 
worthy  of  each  other's  points. 

"  Ye  shall  cast  no  stour  in  my  e'en,  certes  !"  cried  Meg 
Dalrymple.  "  I  ken  ye,  ye  auld  yeld  crummie  Tode. 
Ye  hae  nae  bairns  o'  your  ain,  and  ye  wad  kidnap  the 
bonnie  bairn  o'  a  decent  woman." 

"I  dare  say  no,  'nae  bairns  o'  my  ain,'  quo'  she!" 
cried  Mistress  Tode,  roused  to  high  anger.  "  I  micht 
hae  had  as  mony  as  a  clockin'  hen  gin  I  had  gane  the 
gate  ye  gaed,  Meg  Dalrymple.  I'll  hae  the  law  on  ye, 
ye  randy,  casting  up  my  man's  infirmity  to  me  !" 


GREEK  MEETS   GREEK  249 


a 


Your  '  man/  quo'  she/'  retorted  Meg  Dalrymple. 
"  Ca'  ye  that  auld  bundle  o'  dish-clouts  tied  aboot  wi' 
hippens— a  man?  Save  us,  one  micht  as  soon  bed  ayont 
a  pair  of  auld  duddy  breeks  !" 

"  Ay,  my  man  !"  cried  Mistress  Tode.  "  What  hae  ye  to 
say,  ye  shameless  woman,  again'  Sir  Thomas  Tode,  that 
has  been  Earl's  chaplain  for  forty  year  and  my  lawfu' 
wedded  man  for  ten  ?" 

Mistress  Tode  rang  out  the  titles  like  a  herald  now, 
when  her  husband  was  gainsaid  and  made  light  of. 
But  we  know  that  on  occasions  she  could  treat  him 
cavalierly  enough. 

"  I  wad  as  sune  mairry  a  heather  cow  for  soopin'  the 
rink  at  the  channel  stanes !"  cried  Meg  Dalrymple.  And 
this  implication  bit  deeper  into  the  feelings  of  the  lady 
of  Sir  Thomas  Tode  than  all  the  other  reproaches,  for 
the  brush  of  tonsure  hair  was  a  sore  subject  of  jesting 
with  her,  as  I  well  knew. 

"  I  hae  telled  ye,"  Mistress  Tode  cried,  pausing  a  mo- 
ment with  her  hand  on  her  side,  as  if  to  keep  command 
of  herself — "  I  hae  telled  ye,  woman,  that  we  only  deal 
with  kenned  and  authenticate  folk  in  this  hoose — no  wi' 
orra  loons,  that  nane  kens  wha  belangs  them !  And  I 
wad  hae  ye  ken  also  that  I  am  no  to  be  named  a  liar  by 
the  likes  o'  you,  Meg  Dalrymple  —  me  that  has  been 
keeper  o'  the  larder  keys  o'  this  Earl's  castle  for  fifteen 
year,  me  that  has  had  the  outgiving  o'  all  plenishing,  the 
power  o'  down-sitting  and  on-putting,  and  never  has  been 
checked  in  a  bodle's  worth.  Gang  hame,  ye  Canaanitish 
woman,  and  I  doot  na  ye'U  find  your  brat  safe  in  the 
town's  bridewell.  It  will  learn  ye  to  bide  from  decent 
folk's  houses,  making  such  a  cry  about  your  wastrel 
runnagates." 

"Keep  your  ill  tongue  for  that  disjaskit,  ill-put-the- 
gither  rachle  o'  banes  that  ye  hae  for  guidman  !"  cried 
lhe  widow  Dalrymple.     "^  Weel  do  I  ken  that  ye  hae  my 


250  THE   GRAY   MAN 

bairn  liidclen  awa'  somegate  amang  ye.  Sic  a  trade  as 
has  been  handen  wi'  the  j^nir  bit  laddie  for  carryin'  a 
letter  to  the  Laird  o'  Auchendrayne.  An'  the  like  o' 
you  to  stand  in  my  road,  Tode  woman — yon  that  is  weel 
kenned  in  sax  pairishes  for  an  ill-tongued  gypsy.  I'll 
hae  ye  proclaimed  at  the  market  cross,  a  lord's  cook 
though  ye  be,  gin  ye  dinna  gie  me  hame  my  bairn  wi' 
me!" 

"Na,"  said  Mistress  Tode,  more  quietly,  ''an'  you'll 
no.  Ye'll  e'en  ask  my  pardon  and  gang  quietly  away  to 
your  hame  by  yoursel'." 

"And  wha  is  gaun  to  gar  me  to  that?"  said  Meg 
Dalrymple. 

"Just  me  and  this  bonny  wee  bit  mannikie  here," 
said  Mistress  Thomas  Tode,  turning  round  unexpectedly 
and  catching  the  Dominie  Mure  by  the  arm.  She  pushed 
him  forward  and  clapped  him  in  a  knowing  way  on  the 
shoulder.  "Just  this  decent  snod  bit  mannikie  I"  she 
said  again. 

"Woman,"  said  the  dominie,  very  indignantly,  "what 
have  I  to  do  with  your  quarrels  and  tongue-thrash- 
ings ?" 

"Just  this,  honest  man,"  said  Mistress  Tode:  "ye 
keep  the  Session  records  o'  the  parish  o'  Maybole  ;  and 
if  this  ill-tongued  woman  disna  gang  hame  doucely  and 
quaitly,  ye  are  the  man  that  is  going  to  gie  me  a  sicht 
and  extract  o'  them,  under  date  fourteenth  o'  Januar, 
fifteen  hundred  and  aughty  years." 

The  stroke  told.  Meg  Dalrymple  grew  silent.  The 
anger  faded  out  of  her  face  suddenly  as  the  shining  on 
wet  sea-sand  when  you  lift  your  foot.  The  warlike 
crook  of  her  elbow  flattened  to  a  droop.  For  the  Session 
records  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland  are  the  nearest  thing  to 
the  Books  of  the  Recording  Angel,  and  the  opening  of 
them  is  a  little  Day  of  Judgment  to  half  the  parish. 

But  we  could  not  let  the  poor  woman  depart  in  this 


GEEEK    MEETS    GREEK  251 

fasliion.  I  stepped  to  the  door  from  behind  the  pillar 
where  I  had  been  listening  for  the  ending  of  the  fray. 

"Mistress  Dalrymple/'  I  said,  very  quietly,  ''your  lad 
has  never  come  to  Cassillis  at  all.  We  came  here  to 
meet  him.     He  must  have  lost  his  way."" 

"Maister  Launcelot,"  said  Meg  Dalrymple,  in  a  changed 
voice,  ''ye  come  o'  a  guid,  kind  hoose,  and  ye  tell  no  lies. 
I  am  free  to  believe  you.  But  my  bairn  is  tint  a'  the 
same.     What  will  I  do  ?     Oh,  what  will  I  do  ?" 

"Go  home  and  bide  quiet,"  I  bade  her,  gently.  "I 
shall  myself  speak  to  the  Earl.  And  fear  not  but  we 
will  find  your  lad  if  he  be  in  the  land." 


CHAPTER    XXXIII 
THE    DEVIL   IS   A    GEXTLEMA3S" 

But  William  Dalrymple  was  not  to  be  so  easily  gotten. 
High  and  low  he  was  sought  for,  but  no  trace  of  him  was 
found.  A  girl  had  seen  him  taking  the  road  to  Cassillis 
with  the  dust  rising  behind  him,  as  was  his  wont.  For, 
as  I  have  said,  he  was  the  best  runner  in  the  school  of 
Maybole,  and  in  the  winter  forenights  he  kept  himself  in 
fine  practice  with  outrunning  Rob  Nickerson,  the  town's 
watchman. 

So  on  a  day,  since  no  better  might  be,  Xell  Kennedy 
and  I  rode  out  to  Auchendrayne.  At  first  we  had  it 
trysted  to  go  by  ourselves,  but  Dominie  Mure  declared 
that  he  would  come  with  us—"  and  wait  in  the  hall,  if 
ye  were  asked  to  gang  ben',"  as  he  said,  meaningly. 

"For  they  might  put  you  and  the  lassie  awa',  and  never 
hear  mair  of  it.  But  even  John  Mure  and  his  son  would 
think  twice  before  they  either  sequestered  or  murdered 
the  Dominie  o'  Maybole  and  the  Clerk  of  the  Kirk  Ses- 
sion thereof." 

So,  though  his  coming  with  us  wearied  Nell  and  myself 
somewhat  and  hindered  our  discourse  on  the  journey,  it 
all  turned  out  for  the  best  in  the  end,  as  things  that  are 
bitter  in  the  taking  often  do. 

'  I  was,  I  will  own,  monstrously  curious  to  see  the  tower 
of  Auchendrayne  and  the  surroundings  of  it ;  for  there 
were  strange  rumors  in  the  countryside  concerning  gangs 
of  wild,  savage  folk  that  sometimes  camped  under  the 
trees,  and  tales  of  horrid   faces  which   might   at  any 


THE   DEVIL  IS  A   GENTLEMAN  253 

moment  glower  at  you  from  the  dark  bole  of  a  gnarled 
oak. 

But  this  fair  sunshiny  day  we  that  rode  saw  nothing 
but  the  leaves  rustling  and  clashing  above  us,  and  heard 
nothing  but  the  sough  and  murmur  of  the  Doon  water 
beneath  us.  Auchendrayne  is  a  place  hidden  among 
woods — set  on  a  knoll,  indeed,  but  with  trees  all  about 
it,  not  conspicuous  and  far-regarding  like  the  Newark  or 
Culzeau. 

When  first  we  saw  it  the  gray  battlements  looked  pleas- 
antly enough  out  of  the  greenery,  basking  as  peacefully 
in  the  sun  as  though  they  had  risen  over  the  abode  of 
some  hermit  or  saint.  We  saw  naught  of  the  customary 
stir  and  bustle  of  a  habited  house  about  the  mansion  of 
Auchendrayne.  None  ran  to  the  office  houses.  None 
carried  bundle  nor  drove  cattle  about  the  home  parks. 
It  was  a  peace  like  that  of  a  Sabbath  day.  "A  black 
devil's  Sabbath  !"  said  the  dominie,  grimly.  And  in 
truth  there  was  something  not  altogether  canny  about 
thus  coming  to  a  dead  and  silent  house,  with  the  sun 
shining  hot  and  the  broad  common  day  all  about  and 
above. 

Nor  even  when  we  dismounted  did  any  servant  or 
retainer  come  forth  to  meet  or  challenge  us.  We  did 
not  see  so  much  as  the  flutter  of  a  banner  or  the  gleam 
of  a  steel  cap.  Only  there  about  us  was  the  silent  court- 
yard, with  the  heat  of  noon  trembling  athwart  it,  and  the 
very  paving -stones  clean  swept  like  a  table  before  the 
feast  is  set. 

I  tied  our  horses  to  the  iron  ring  of  a  louping-on  stone 
which  stood  at  the  angle  of  the  wall  by  the  gate,  thinking 
as  I  did  so  that  if  only  these  foot-worn  steps  could  speak 
they  could  tell  a  tale  worth  hearkening  to  of  strange  ven- 
turings  and  bloody  quests. 

Also  I  loosened  my  sword,  and  I  think  I  saw  the  dom- 
inie lay  his  hand  to  his  hip  ere  Nell  and  I  set  forward 


254  THE   GRAY   MA]S" 

together.  We  went  up  the  steps  of  the  outside  stair,  and 
as  we  did  so  we  came  within  hearing  of  a  little  continu- 
ons  murmur  of  hoarse  sound.  The  doors  were  all  open, 
and  I  wot  well  that  we  walked  softly  and  with  our  hearts 
in  our  mouths,  for  the  silence  and  the  strangeness  of  the 
deadly  house  of  Auchendrayne  daunted  me  more  than  the 
clash  of  swords  or  the  crack  of  pistols.  But  I  had  Nell 
Kennedy  by  me,  and  I  would  have  gone  to  destruction's 
pit-mouth  for  her  sake — because,  saving  my  father  and 
mother,  she  was  the  only  friend  I  had. 

Suddenly,  in  our  advance,  we  came  to  the  door  of  a 
great  hall,  where,  at  the  upper  end,  was  a  table  in  the 
midst.  Tlie  windows  were  narrow  and  high,  throwing 
down  but  a  dim  light  upon  the  rush-strewn  floor.  There 
were  many  servants  and  others  sitting  in  the  hall,  and  at 
the  farther  end  stood  one  who  read  from  a  book.  As 
soon  as  our  eyes  became  accustomed  to  the  cool  duski- 
ness, after  the  white,  equal  glare  without,  I  perceived  that 
the  reader  was  none  other  than  John  Mure  himself. 
About  him  there  sat  all  his  servants  and  retainers,  both 
men  and  women. 

It  was  the  crown  of  my  astonishment  to  hear  that  the 
book  from  which  he  read  was  the  Bible,  and  also  that  as 
he  went  on  he  made  comments  like  a  minister  expound- 
ing his  morning  chapter,  speaking  very  seasonably  and 
fitly,  and  eke  with  excellent  judgment  and  sense.  Or  so, 
at  least,  it  seemed  to  me,  for  I  am  not  enough  of  a  clerk 
to  be  a  judge  of  expositions,  though  my  father  has  the 
two  great  leather-bound  volumes  of  Clerk  Erasmus  his 
Para2)lirases  on  the  shelf  over  the  mantel.  But  though 
he  is  fond  of  these  himself,  he  never  rubbed  any  of  his 
liking  into  me. 

But  we  were  hearkening  to  the  reading  of  John  Mure 
in  his  own  hall  of  Auchendrayne. 

'^^Fill  ye  up,  then,  the  measures  of  your  fathers,*" 
somewhat  in  this  fashion  he  read  from  his  place.     "  'Ye 


THE    DEVIL   IS   A    GENTLEMAJST  255 

serpents,  ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  shall  ye  escape  the 
damnation  of  hell  ?  Wherefore  behold  I  send  nnto  you 
prophets  and  wise  men  and  scribes  ;  and  some  of  them 
ye  shall  kill  and  crucify,  and  some  of  them  shall  ye 
scourge  in  your  synagogues,  and  persecute  them  from 
city  to  city — that  upon  you  may  come  all  the  righteous 
blood  shed  upon  the  earth,  from  the  blood  of  righteous 
Abel  unto  the  blood  of  Zacharias,  son  of  Barachias,  whom 
ye  slew  between  the  temple  and  the  altar.  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  all  these  things  shall  come  upon  this  genera- 
tion.' -•' 

Having  read  this  word,  which,  knowing  what  I  knew, 
I  had  thought  would  have  made  him  sink  through  the 
earth  with  the  fear  of  condemnation,  John  Mure  com- 
mented upon  it,  showing  how  it  applied  to  such  as  re- 
fused the  right  gospel  way  and  walked  in  devious  courses, 
careless  of  God  and  man.  Then  he  went  on  with  his 
reading  in  the  same  clear  and  solemn  voice,  though  he 
must  perforce  have  seen  us  stand  in  the  hall  door. 

So  soon  as  the  reading  was  over  the  great  company  of 
the  retainers  decently  took  their  departure,  walking  out 
soberly  and  without  hurry.  Then  came  John  Mure  down 
from  the  dais  with  the  Bible  yet  in  his  hand,  and  wel- 
comed us  with  a  condescension  that  was  quaint  and  un- 
canny. 

''Ye  have  gotten  us  at  our  devotions.  Mistress  Helen, 
and  you,  Master  Launcelot,  and  Domine  Mure — my  good 
cousin.  You  could  not  have  found  us  better  em- 
ployed." 

"Do  ye  believe  what  ye  read?"  asked  the  dominie, 
quickly. 

"Whatever  is  a  means  to  an  end,  that  I  believe  in — 
even  as  you  believe  in  your  taws  and  birch  twigs.  The 
reading  of  Scripture  threatenings  makes  quiet  bairns, 
and  so  does  the  birch." 

"  What  think  ye  of  the  blood  of  righteous  Abel  ?"  said 


256  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

the  dominie — with,  methought,  more  boklness  than  dis- 
cretion.    "Will  it  cry  from  the  "ground,  think  ye  ?" 

The  Laird  of  Auchendrayne  looked  at  the  little  dom- 
inie as  one  might  upon  a  fractious  but  entertaining 
bairn. 

"  It  is  a  point  much  disputed.  Ye  had  better  ask  our 
Launcelot's  friend,  Maister  Eobert  Bruce,  Minister  of 
Edinburgh,  if  perchance  his  head  be  yet  upon  his  shoul- 
ders." 

Which  saying  showed  me  that  John  Mure  knew  more 
than  I  had  given  him  the  credit  for. 

Then  he  turned  to  Nell. 

"You  would  wish  to  see  the  young  Lady  Auchen- 
drayne ?"  he  said,  courteously. 

Nell  replied,  coldly  enough,  "I  should  like  to  see  my 
sister." 

"I  think,"  said  Auchendrayne,  with  a  wise-like  and 
grave  sobriety  that  set  well  on  his  reverend  person,  "■  that 
she  is  presently  in  the  orchard-house." 

"Will  you  bide  here,  or  will  you  go  with  Mistress 
Helen  ?"  he  asked  of  me. 

"  We  would  all  go  together,"  said  Nell,  "  if  it  pleasure 
you." 

So  with  a  courteous  wave  of  the  hand  he  led  us 
through  stone  passages  and  along  echoing  corridors,  till 
we  came  to  a  door  in  the  wall,  from  which  we  entered 
upon  a  pleasant  prospect  of  gardens  and  orchards.  Here 
again  there  was  the  same  curious  silence,  and,  as  it 
seemed,  an  absence  of  the  twitter  and  stir  of  a  Scottish 
garden  in  the  season  of  summer. 

We  came  presently  to  a  stone  building  like  a  tomb,  all 
overshaded  with  trees. 

"  This  is  the  orchard-house  of  Auchendrayne,"  he  said. 
"I  believe  the  Lady  Marjorie  is  within." 

The  dominie  and  I  stayed  without  with  John  Mure 
while  Nell  went  in  alone  to  greet  her  sister.     We  heard 


THE   DEVIL   IS   A    GENTLEMAN  257 

the  faint  murmur  of  voices  and  now  and  then  a  pulsing 
check  as  of  a  slow,  smothered  sob.  We  tliat  were  with- 
out stood  with  our  backs  to  the  cold,  heavy,  white  stones 
under  the  green  shade,  while  John  Mure  discoursed 
learnedly  and  pleasantly  of  flower-beds  and  tulips  and 
the  best  form  of  dovecot  tower  for  the  supply  of  the  table 
with  pigeon-pie. 

At  last  Nell  came  to  the  door. 

"  Launcelot,  Marjorie  wishes  you  to  come  in,"  she  said. 
"Whereupon  I  entered,  and  found  a  large  room  finished  in 
oaken  panelling  and  moulded  archings.  Roses  looked 
in  at  the  windows,  and  a  stir  of  pleasant  coolness  was  all 
about.  Marjorie  was  sitting  by  a  table  with  many  books 
spread  upon  it. 

My  dear  lady  was  pale  and  white  as  a  lily.  She  leaned 
her  head  wearily  on  her  hand.  But  there  burned  a  still 
and  unslockened  fire  in  her  eye. 

"Launcelot,"  she  said  to  me,  '-'this  is  not  so  wide  a 
place  to  walk  within  as  the  pleasance  at  Culzean,  nor 
yet  can  we  see  from  the  garden-house  of  Auchendrayne 
the  rough  blue  edges  of  Arran  or  the  round  Haystack  of 
Ailsa." 

I  bade  her  look  forward  to  happy  days  yet  to  come,  for, 
indeed,  I  knew  not  what  to  say  to  her.  She  smiled  upon 
me  wistfully  and  indulgently,  as  one  does  upon  a  prat- 
tling child. 

"1  thank  you,  Launcelot,"  she  said,  "but  I  was  not 
born  for  happiness.  Nevertheless,  you  were  ever  my 
good  lad.  I  see  you  still  wear  my  favor,  but  doubtless 
long  ere  this  you  have  found  another  lady.  Is  it 
not  so  ?" 

I  told  her  no,  blushing  to  have  to  say  so  in  the  hearing 
of  Nell — who  afterwards  might  flout  me,  or,  as  like  as 
not,  cast  up  again  the  old  matter  of  Kate  Allison. 

Then,  through  one  of  the  windows,  I  saw  John  Mure 
pacing  up  and  down  the  path  with  the  dominie  at  the 

17 


258  THE   GRAY   MAN 

other  side  of  the  garden,  so  I  knew  that  it  was  our  time 
to  speak. 

"  Ye  have  heard  of  your  father's  death  ?"  said  I. 
"  What  think  ye  ?  How  was  it  wrought  and  how  brought 
about  ?     Can  you  help  us  to  unravel  it  ?" 

"Nay,"  said  Marjorie,  ''not  at  present.  But  in  good 
time  I  shall  yet  clear  the  matter  to  the  roots,  and  that 
before  I  die." 

"Wherefore  will  you  not  come  back  to  ns  at  Culzean? 
We  need  you  sorely,"  pleaded  Nell,  who  stood  holding 
her  sister's  hand. 

"  Nay,"  said  Marjorie,  "  my  work  is  not  yet  done  at 
Auchendrayne." 

It  was  the  self-same  answer  she  had  given  when  she 
rode  away  from  the  gate  of  Maybole  on  the  day  of  the 
death  of  Gilbert  Kennedy  of  Bargany. 

"Are  they  cruel  to  you  here,  Marjorie,  tell  me  that  ?" 
I  said,  for  I  saw  that  the  old  laird  was  approaching,  and 
that  our  further  time  would  be  but  short. 

"  No  one  of  them  hath  laid  so  much  as  a  finger  upon 
me  !"  said  Marjorie.  And  this,  at  least,  was  some  com- 
fort to  carry  back  to  the  sad  house  of  Culzean  with  us. 

So  with  that,  little  satisfied  concerning  the  thing  which 
we  came  to  seek,  but  with  somewhat  more  ease  in  our 
hearts  for  Marjorie's  sake,  we  went  back  through  the 
passages  and  into  the  great  hall.  While  we  waited  there 
for  a  servant  to  show  us  forth  to  our  horses,  my  eye  rested 
upon  a  large,  closely  v/ritten  volume,  with  the  quill- 
pen  laid  upon  it,  and  ink-horn  set  in  a  hole  in  the  desk 
above  it. 

"  I  see  that  my  clerkly  work  lias  caught  your  eye,"  said 
John  Mure.  "It  is  a  nothing  that  I  amuse  myself  with- 
al, yet  it  may  live  longer  than  you  or  I.  It  is  but  a  slight 
history  of  the  mighty  sept  whose  name  you,  Master 
Launcelot,  so  worthily  bear,  with  all  their  branches  and 
noble  deeds  at  arms.      For  me,  I  am  but  a  useless  old 


o 


> 

5 


1-9 

> 
td 


THE    DEVIL   IS   A    GENTLEMAN  259 

man,  past  the  labor  of  fighting.  Yea,  I  know  it  was  your 
own  hmce  that  put  me  there.  But  I  bear  no  malice ;  it 
was  the  fortune  of  war.  You  know  me  better  than  to 
suppose  that  John  Mure  bears  a  grudge  for  that  shrewd 
thrust  you  dealt  me  on  the  day  of  the  quenching  of  our 
hopes  in  blood  by  the  gate  of  Maybole." 

I  bowed  and  thanked  him  for  his  courteous  words. 

'^It  was  indeed  the  gallantest  charge  that  ever  was 
made,"  said  I,  "  since  that  of  Norman  Leslie,  when,  on 
the  day  before  Renti,  he  drave  into  the  midst  of  sixty 
Spaniards  with  but  seven  Scottish  lances  at  his  tail." 

"  Ah,  Master  Kennedy,"  replied  the  Laird  of  Auchen- 
drayne,  smiling,  "I  knew  not  that  you  also  were  an  his- 
torian." 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  "  1  am  no  historian,  but  a  soldier.  Yet  is 
it  a  part  of  the  training  of  a  good  fighter  that  he  should 
know  the  great  deeds  which  have  been  done  in  the  wars 
before  him  by  brave  men,  so  that  he  may  emulate  them 
when  he  himself  is  launched  upon  the  points." 

"  It  is  well  said,  sir  squire,"  said  Auchendrayne,  bow- 
ing to  me. 

So,  with  a  courteous  farewell,  in  which  there  was  to 
be  seen  no  grain  of  hate  nor  as  much  as  a  glint  of  the 
teeth  of  the  wolf,  he  bade  us  go  our  ways.  "  And,  above 
all  things,"  he  cried  after  us,  "mind  your  prayers  !  ^Tis 
a  good  lesson  for  the  young  to  remember." 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 

IN    THE    enemy's    COUNTRY 

Now^  through  being  over-careful  with  my  chronicle, 
I  have  spent  too  much  time  on  our  conferences.  But  we 
were,  indeed,  at  the  parting  of  the  ways,  and  needed  all 
advice.  On  our  way  to  Culzean  we  met  one  who  told  us 
that  the  Earl  had  gone  home  that  day  to  Cassillis.  Nell 
besought  me  ride  thither,  for  she  had  a  request  to  make 
to  the  head  of  her  house  ere  she  went  her  ways  back  to 
Culzean. 

So  to  Cassillis  we  rode,  and  at  the  gate  encountered 
Robert  Harburgh,  dressed,  as  usual,  in  his  dark,  close- 
fitting  doublet,  and  with  his  long,  plain  sword  by  his 
side.  With  him  I  abode  while  Helen  went  within  to  pay 
her  duty  and  service  to  the  Countess — who,  as  Nell  told 
me  afterwards,  never  stopped  praising  the  ancient  days 
when  she  was  the  Chancellor's  wife,  and  had  one  of  the 
ladies  of  the  Court  to  attire  her. 

''Now,"  she  said,  bitterly,  "John  grudges  it  if  I  take 
a  milkmaid  half  an  hour  from  the  butter-kirning  to  help 
to  arrange  my  hair." 

Presently  the  Earl  came  out.  He  showed  himself  well 
pleased  and  kind,  as,  indeed,  he  ever  was  with  me — per- 
haps because  I  never  asked  aught  of  him  in  all  my  life. 

"Helen,  our  cousin,"  said  he,  "desires  that  she  may 
go  and  bide  among  the  heather  with  your  good  mother  at 
Kirrieoch.     What  think  ye  of  that  ?" 

I  told  him  that  I  had  not  heard  of  it — that  she  had 
spoken  no  word  to  me. 


IN   THE    enemy's    COUNTRY  261 

''See  to  the  matter,"  he  said,  with  significance.  "I 
have  been  advised  concerning  Sir  Thomas  and  liis  hi;St 
words.  And  if  yon  prove  worthy  I  know  no  reason  why 
ye  should  not  have  the  lass.  But  first  ye  must  find  the 
treasure  of  Kelwood  or  bring  down  her  father's  murderers 
— one  of  the  two.  And  then,  when  that  is  done,  I  pledge 
you  my  knightly  word  that  ye  shall  have  both  the  lass 
and  a  suitable  providing.  Besides  which,  if  I  am  in  favor 
with  the  King,  ye  may  even  get  a  clap  on  the  shoulder 
from  the  flat  of  a  royal  sAvord.  But  that,"  said  he,  "I 
can  nocht  promise  ye,  for  with  King  Jamie  no  man's  favor 
is  siccar." 

I  told  him  that  I  kenned  not  rightly  if  the  lass  would 
have  me  ;  that  I  never  spoke  a  single  word  of  love  to  her 
but  what  she  lightlied  me. 

"In  good  time,"  said  the  Earl,  smiling  and  nodding. 
"The  lass  that  wants  in  time  of  stress  to  gang  and  bide 
with  the  minnie  will  draw  not  unkindly  to  the  son  in 
times  of  ease." 

Then  came  Nell  with  a  knitted  shawl  from  the  Countess 
to  wear  among  the  hills,  for  Earl  John  and  she  were  kind 
folk  enough  in  all  that  touched  not  the  getting  or  spend- 
ing of  gear. 

I  asked  my  lord  also  for  the  company  of  Robert  Har- 
burgli  to  help  me  in  the  escorting  of  Nell  fitly  to  the  little 
tower  of  Kirrieocli  on  the  side  of  the  Minnoch  water. 

"  Ay,  ay  ;  let  him  gang,"  said  the  Earl.  "  The  honey- 
moon is  by,  and  his  wife  will  be  the  fonder  of  him  for 
lying  her  lane  till  he  comes  hame  to  her  again." 

So  Robert  Ilarburgh  and  his  long  sword  went  south- 
ward from  Cassillis  along  with  us,  riding  mostly  with  the 
dominie,  while  I  rode  behind  with  Nell. 

I  told  her  all  our  plans  as  we  went.  How  we  must  seek 
the  treasure ;  and  how  we  must,  above  all  things,  find 
the  boy  Dalrymple. 

"  I  will  go  with  you  upon  your  quest,"  the  staunch 


262  THE   GRAY   MAN 

little  dominie  had  said  to  me  when  he  heard  of  our  ad- 
venture. And  so  it  fell  out  that  we  four  rode  steadily  to 
the  south,  till  we  came  in  the  evening  to  my  own  hill- 
land,  where  the  whaups  cry,  where  the  burnies  go  chuck- 
ling to  themselves  and  clattering  over  the  pebbles,  and 
where  all  the  folk's  hearts  are  kindly  and  warm.  My 
mother  took  my  lass  in  her  arms  when  we  told  her  our 
purpose  and  Nell's  request. 

"And  I  will  help  you  with  the  kye  ?"  said  Nell,  blithe- 
ly, to  her. 

*''Ay,"  answered  my  mother.  '^  Ye  will  help  with  the 
drinking  of  the  milk,  and  that  will  e'en  bring  some  roses 
back  into  your  cheeks,  my  puir  bit  shilpit  lassie." 

And  though  there  passed  not  a  look  by  the  common 
between  us  when  we  parted,  I  think  my  mother  shrewdly 
jaloosed  what  were  my  hopes. 

Thus  we  left  them  standing  by  the  loan  dike,  the  two 
old  folk  and  Nell  with  her  yellow  hair  a-blowing  in  the 
midst.  And  I,  that  knew  not  whether  I  might  ever  see 
them  again,  waved  a  hand,  and  resolved  to  return  with  a 
name  and  a  barony  at  the  least ;  or,  if  my  lot  were  per- 
verse, to  leave  my  bones  in  some  stricken  field. 

It  is  hard  for  a  man  to  part  from  a  lass — and  in  especial 
from  one  to  whom  he  dares  not  make  love  as  he  has  done 
to  others,  all  because  those  others  have  told  upon  him, 
till  he  fears  the  ridicule  of  his  real  love  more  than  rapier 
thrusts.  Right  bitterly  did  I  regret  that  I  had  done  my 
by-courtings  so  near  home ;  because,  on  my  very  life  I 
dared  not  venture  a  sweet  word  to  Nell  Kennedy  for  fear 
of  her  saying,  ''That  is  even  what  you  said  to  Kate 
Allison,  the  Grieve's  lass."  Or  as  it  might,  "Keep  to 
your  customs.  It  is  not  your  usual  time  yet  by  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  to  put  your  arm  about  our  waists." 

Now  this  is  monstrously  iinfair  to  any  man,  who,  after 
all,  is  compelled  to  conduct  his  affairs  with  some  sort  of 


IN   THE   ENEMY  S    COUNTRY  263 

rule  and  plan  of  attack.  I  was  a  fool — well  do  I  know  it. 
I  ought  to  have  gone  farther  afield  than  the  Grieve's 
house.  I  am  sure  there  are  plenty  of  lasses  in  Carrick 
fairer  to  look  upon  than  Kate  Allison,  though  I  am  free 
to  admit  that  I  thought  not  so  at  the  time. 

So  as  we  went  back  it  was  arranged  that  Robert  Ilar- 
burgh  should  ride  to  the  woodland  country  about  Auch- 
endrayne,  and  there,  from  his  headquarters  at  Cassillis, 
keep  his  eye  upon  the  doings  of  the  Mures,  because  his 
person  was  unknown  to  them  of  Auchendrayne's  house- 
hold. 

The  dominie  and  I  undertook  the  more  uncertain  work, 
but  we  had  made  our  plans  and  were  not  to  be  put  off. 
The  neisrhborhood  of  the  Benane  was  well  known  to  all 
that  trafficked  about  the  town  of  Girvan.  It  was  a  dan- 
gerous and  an  ill-famed  place,  and  many  innocent  people 
had  very  mysteriously  lost  their  lives  there,  or  at  least 
disappeared  to  return  no  more.  In  order,  therefore,  that 
we  might  be  more  free  to  pursue  our  wanderings,  we  left 
our  horses  behind  us.  Indeed,  Dom  Nicholas  was  even 
now  cropping  the  sweet  grasses  on  the  side  of  the  Minnoch 
water,  with  my  father  to  show  him  Avhere  they  grew 
thickest  and  my  mother  to  give  him  oats  between  times, 
till  the  brave  beast  was  in  some  danger  of  being  overfed. 

As  we  neared  Girvan  we  came  into  a  country  of  the 
bitterest  partisans  of  the  Bargany  folk.  Here  dwelt 
James  Bannatyne  of  Chapeldonnan,  one  of  the  great 
intimates  of  John  Mure,  and  much  beholden  to  him. 
Here  also  was  Girvan  Mains,  over  the  possession  of 
which  much  of  the  black  blood  had  arisen.  So,  for  our 
safety,  we  gave  ourselves  out  to  be  plain  merchants  trav- 
elling to  Stranrawer  in  order  to  get  a  passage  over  to 
Ireland. 

When  we  came  to  the  farm-houses  where  we  were  to 
stay  for  the  night  we  always  asked  of  the  goodman,  in 
the  hearing  of  his  wife,  concerning  the  state  of  the  coun- 


264  THE    GRAY   MAN" 

try.  Was  it  peaceful  ?  Were  the  bloody  fends  staunched, 
and  could  honest  men  now  live  in  peace  ?  We  heard,  as 
was  natural,  a  great  deal  of  abuse  of  the  Earl  and  of  our 
faction,  as  the  greediest  and  worst-intentioned  rascals  in 
the  world.  That  from  the  goodman  ;  but  when  the  wife 
got  her  tongue  started  she  would  tell  us  much  that  was 
no  credit  to  Drummurchie  and  others  on  the  side  of  the 
murderers.  Soon  we  were  fully  certified  that  we  were 
already  in  the  country  where  Drummurchie  and  Clon- 
caird  and  the  rest  of  their  party  were  being  secretly  sus- 
tained by  their  friends.  Yet  we  could  not  come  at  them, 
which  perhaps  was  as  well,  seeing  that  my  person  was 
well  known  to  them. 

I  found  the  little  dominie  a  right  brave  companion. 
When  we  sojourned  at  houses  he  had  a  way  with  the 
bairns  that  kept  them  on  the  trot  to  do  his  will,  and 
pleasured  to  do  it — a  manner  also  of  cross-questioning 
the  parents  about  their  children  which  showed  them  his 
interest  and  his  knowledge.  Then  he  would  most  wisely 
and  soberly  advise  them  to  see  and  give  this  lad  Alec  a 
good  education,  to  make  that  one  a  merchant  because  of 
his  cleverness  with  figures,  and  this  a  dominie  or  a  clerk, 
because  lie  did  not  give  promise  of  being  fit  for  anything 
else.  It  was  as  good  as  a  play  to  hear  him,  and  made  us 
much  thought  of  wherever  we  went. 

Yet  he  was  ready  with  his  fighting-tools  also.  Once 
when  we  went  by  Kildonan  and  a  pack  of  dirty  vaga- 
bonds bade  us  stand,  what  was  my  surprise  to  find  that 
Dominie  Mure,  having  laid  down  his  jnpes  and  out  with 
his  blade,  was  already  driving  among  them  before  I  had 
got  so  much  as  my  hand  on  the  sword-blade.  And  I  am 
no  laggard,  either,  with  the  iron,  as  all  may  know  by 
this  time.  But  with  his  great,  bristling,  fierce  head  and 
his  rapier  that  thrust  uj)  unexpectedly  from  below  (yet 
which  with  the  length  of  his  arm  reached  as  far  as  a  tall 
man's),  the  dominie  gave  the  rascals   a  fright  and   a 


IN   THE    ENEMY'S    COUNTRY  265 

wound  or  two  also  Avliicli  started  them  at  the  run.  Even 
then  he  followed,  thrusting  at  them  behind  till  they 
shouted  amain,  and  took  across  the  fields  to  escape  the 
pricking  of  his  merciless  weapon.  And  ever  as  they  ran 
he  cried,  "  'Halt  and  deliver  V  did  ye  say  ?  I  will  give 
you  a  bellyful  of  '  Halt  and  deliver  !' " 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

THE  ogre's  castle 

So,  being  wearied  with  the  chase,  we  went  to  the  nearest 
farm,  which,  as  it  happened,  was  that  of  Chapeklonnan. 
It  stood  quite  close  by  the  roadside.  A  tall,  large-boned 
woman  came  to  the  gate  with  a  pail  of  pigs'  meat  in  her 
hand. 

''  What  seek  ye  ?"  she  said.  "  We  want  nae  travelling 
folk  about  Chapeldonnan." 

We  told  her  that  Ave  were  merchants  going  to  Ireland, 
and  that  we  had  been  attacked  by  a  set  of  rascals  upon 
the  way,  whom  we  had  made  flee. 

"They  are  no  that  ill  in  this  pairt  o'  the  country. 
They  wad  only  hae  killed  ye,"  she  said,  as  if  that  would 
have  been  a  satisfaction  to  us.  ''It  is  doon  aboot  the 
Benane  that  the  real  ill  folk  bide." 

I  told  her  that  killing  was  enough  for  me,  and  that  I 
was  puzzled  to  know  what  worse  she  could  mean. 

So,  with  some  seeming  reluctance,  she  bade  us  come  in. 
The  wide  quadrangle  of  the  farm  buildings  was  defended 
like  a  fortress.  The  gate  was  spiked  and  barred  with 
iron  from  post  to  post,  as  though  it  had  been  the  gate  of 
a  fighting  baron  instead  of  the  yett  of  a  tenant,  devised 
only  to  keep  in  the  kye. 

We  asked  civilly  for  the  master  of  the  house,  and 
somewhat  hastily  the  woman  answered  us  : 

"The  guidmau's  no  at  hame.  He  has  been  away  ower 
by  at  the  Craig  trying  to  win  the  harvest  of  the  solan 
geese  and  sea-parrots." 


THE    ogre's    castle  267 

^'Yonr  husband  is  tenant  of  the  rock?"  I  said,  for  it 
is  always  worth  while  finding  out  what  a  man  like  James 
Bannatyno  may  be  doing,  or  at  least  how  much  he  thinks 
it  advisable  to  tell. 

'^Ow  ay,"  she  said,  ''and  a  bonnie  holding  it  is.  Gin 
it  werena  for  the  Ailsa  cocks,  the  conies,  and  the  doos,  it 
wad  be  a  mill-stone  aboot  oor  necks,  for  we  have  to  pay 
sweetly  for  the  rent  o'  it  to  my  Lady  of  Bargany." 

"  But,"  said  I,  "it  belongs  to  the  Earl,  does  it  not  ?" 

The  mistress  of  Chapeldonnan  looked  pityingly  at  us. 

"Ye  are  twa  well-put-on  men  to  be  so  ignorant.  Ye 
maun  hae  been  lang  awa'  frae  this  pairt  o'  the  country 
no  to  ken  that  the  neighborhood  is  very  unhealthy  for  the 
friends  o'  the  Earl  o'  Cassillis  to  come  here.  Faith,  the 
last  that  cam'  speerin'  for  rent  and  mails  in  this  quarter 
gat  six  inch  o'  cauld  steel  in  the  wame  o'  him  !" 

"And  what,"  said  the  dominie,  "became  o'  him  after 
that  ?     Did  he  manage  to  recover  ?" 

"Na,  na.  He  was  buried  in  Colmonel  kirkyaird.  The 
goodman  of  Boghead  gied  him  a  resting  -  grave  and  a 
headstone.  It  was  thought  to  be  very  kind  o'  him.  It 
was  Boghead  liimsel'  that  stickit  him." 

"Ye  see  what  it  is  to  be  a  Christian,  goodwife!"  said 
the  dominie. 

"  Ow  ay,  lad,"  said  the  woman,  jjlacidly.  "That  was 
generally  remarked  on  at  the  time.  Ye  see.  Boghead 
was  ay  a  forgiein'  man  a'  his  days.  But  for  a'  that,  it 
was  the  general  opinion  o'  the  pairish  that  the  thing 
micht  be  carried  ower  far  when  it  cam'  to  setting  up  my 
Lord  of  Cassillis's  folks  wi'  graves  and  headstones  !" 

She  continued,  after  a  pause  .- 

"I  hae  been  deevin'  at  our  guidman  to  gie  up  the 
Craig,  for  it  keeps  him  a  deal  from  hame,  and  I  ay  tell 
him  that  he  carries  awa'  mair  than  he  brings  back  o' 
drink  and  victual.  But  he  says  that  the  rock  is  a  maist 
extraordinary  hungrysome  place  !" 


268  THE   GRAY   MAN 

"  It  has  that  name/'  said  I,  unwarily. 

She  stojiped  and  looked  at  me  with  sudden  suspicion. 

"  What  ken  ye  aboot  the  Ailsa  ?"  she  asked,  looking 
directly  at  me. 

^'Nocht  ava,"  I  replied,  ''but  a'  seaside  places  hae  the 
name  o'  making  you  ready  for  your  meal  of  meat." 

"  Hoot,  no,"  said  Mistress  Bannatyne.  "  Now,  there's 
mysel'.  I  canna  do  mair  than  tak'  a  pickin'  o'  meat,  like 
a  sparrow  on  the  lip  o'  the  swinepot.  Yet  Chapeldon- 
nan  is  but  a  step  frae  the  sea." 

She  was  at  that  moment  lifting  a  heavy  iron  pot  off  the 
cleps,  or  iron  hooks,  by  which  it  hung  over  the  fireplace 
in  the  midst  of  the  kitchen  floor. 

"I  hae  ay  been  delicate  a'  my  days,  and  it  is  an  awe- 
some thing  for  a  woman  like  me  to  be  tied  to  a  big  eater 
like  James,  that  never  kens  when  he  has  his  fill — like  a 
corbie  howkin'  at  a  braxy  sheep  till  there  was  naething 
left  but  the  horns  and  the  tail." 

I  thought  we  might  get  some  information  about  the 
Benane,  which  might  prove  of  some  use  to  us  when  we 
adventured  thither. 

"Goodwife,"  said  I,  ''we  are  thinking  of  going  by 
Ballantrae  to  the  town  of  Stranrawer.  The  direct  way, 
I  hear,  is  by  the  Benane.  What  think  ye — is  the  road  a 
good  one  ?" 

"Ye  are  a  sonsy  lad,"  she  said ;  "ye  wad  mak'  braw 
j)ickin'  for  the  teeth  o'  Sawny  Bean's  bairns.  They  wad 
roast  your  ribs  fresh  and  fresh  till  they  were  done.  Syne 
they  would  pickle  your  quarters  for  the  winter.  The  like 
o'  you  wad  be  as  guid  as  a  Christmas  mart  to  them," 

"Hoot,  goodwife,"  said  I,  "ye  ken  that  a'  this  talk 
aboot  Sawny  Bean's  folk  is  juist  blethers — made  to  fright 
bairns  frae  gallivanting  at  night." 

"  Ye'll  maybe  get  news  o'  that  gin  Sawny  puts  his  knife 
intil  your  throat.  Ye  hae  heard  o'  my  man.  James  Ban- 
natyne is  not  a  man  easily  feared,  but  not  for  the  Earldom 


..  ^VW^'^'- 


•SHE   WAS  LIFTING    A   HEAVY   IRON   POT   OFF   THE   CLEFS ' 


THE    ogre's    castle  269 

o'  Cassillis  wad  he  gang  that  shore  road  to  Ballantrae  his 
lane." 

And,  indeed,  there  were  in  the  countryside  enough  tales 
of  wayfarers  who  had  disappeared  there,  of  pools  of  blood 
frozen  in  the  morning,  of  travellers'  footsteps  that  went 
so  far  and  then  were  lost  in  a  smother  of  tracks  made  by 
naked  feet  running  every  way.  But  I  kept  on  with  my 
questions.  I  wanted  to  hear  the  bruit  of  the  country, 
and  what  were  our  chances. 

While  we  were  thus  cheerfully  talking,  and  the  dom- 
inie by  whiles  playing  a  spring  upon  his  pipes  to  gain  the 
lady's  good-will,  there  came  in  a  man  of  a  black  and  grew- 
some  countenance.  We  knew  him  at  once  for  the  master 
of  Chapeldonnan,  James  Bannatyne,  for  he  came  in  as 
only  a  goodman  comes  into  his  own  house.  He  was  a 
man  renowned  for  his  great  strength  all  over  Carrick. 
He  turned  on  us  a  lowering  regard  as  he  went  clumsily 
by  into  an  inner  room,  carrying  an  armful  of  nets.  I 
noted  that  the  twine  had  not  been  wet,  so  that  his  sea- 
fishinsf  had  not  come  to  much.  But  behind  the  door  he 
flung  down  a  back-load  of  birds — mostly  solan  geese  and 
the  fowl  called  "  the  Foolish  Cock  of  the  Rock,"  together 
with  half  a  dozen  "Tammy  Nories."  So  I  guessed  that 
he  had  either  been  over  the  water  to  Ailsa,  or  desired  to 
have  it  thought  so. 

His  wife  went  ben  the  room  to  him.  We  could  hear 
the  sulky  giant's  growling  questions  as  to  who  we  were 
and  his  wife's  brisk  replies.  Presently  she  came  out,  look- 
ing a  little  dashed. 

''James  has  come  in  raither  tired,"  she  said,  "and  he 
will  need  to  lie  down  and  hae  a  sleep." 

"In  that  case,  mistress,"  I  said,  "we  will  e'en  thank 
you  for  your  kindly  hospitality  and  take  our  ways." 

She  followed  us  to  the  door,  and  I  think  she  was 
wonderfully  glad  to  get  us  safe  away  without  blood- 
shed. 


270  THE    GRAY   MAK 

*^Be  sure  that  ye  gang  na  south  by  the  Benane/'  she 
said  ;  "  the  folk  that  bide  there  are  no  canny." 

So  we  thanked  lier  again  and  took  our  way,  breathing 
more  freely  also  to  have  left  the  giant  behind. 

We  had  not  gone  far,  hoAvever,  when  we  sj^ied  her  hus- 
band hastening  after  us  across  a  field.  He  came  up  with 
us  by  a  turn  in  the  road. 

"  We  harbor  no  spies  at  Chapeldonnan,"  he  said,  bend- 
ing sullenest  brows  at  us,  '^and  that  I  would  have  you 
know." 

"  We  are  no  spies  on  you  nor  on  any  well-doing  man," 
I  said.  "We  are  honest  merchants  on  our  way  to  Stran- 
rawer,  and  but  called  in  to  ask  the  way." 

"  Ye  speered  ower  mony  questions  of  my  wife  to  be 
honest  men,"  he  said,  threateningly. 

''And  why,"  said  the  dominie,  birsing  up  as  one  that 
is  ready  to  quarrel,  "  in  this  realm  of  Scotland  may  not  a 
man  without  offence  ask  his  way  from  the  honest  wife 
of  an  honest  man,  so  long  as  he  soliciteth  no  favor  more 
intimate  ?" 

At  this  the  giant  made  a  blow  at  the  little  dominie. 
He  had  a  large  cudgel  in  his  hand,  and  he  struck  without 
warning,  like  the  ill-conditioned  ruffian  that  he  was.  But 
he  fell  in  with  the  wrong  man  when  he  tried  to  take 
Dominie  Mure  unawares,  for  the  little  man  was  as 
gleg  as  a  hawk,  having  been  accustomed  to  watch  the 
eyes  of  boys  all  his  life — ay,  and  often  those  of  lads  bigger 
than  himself.  So  that  long  before  the  hulking  stroke  of 
the  fellow  came  near  him  the  dominie  had  sprung  to 
the  side,  and  was  ready,  with  his  whinger  in  his  hand,  to 
spit  Bannatyne  upon  the  point.  For  myself  I  did  not 
even  think  it  worth  my  while  even  to  draw — for  I  had 
only  brought  my  plain  sword,  fearing  that  in  some  of  the 
company  which  on  our  wanderings  we  might  have  to 
keep,  the  Earl's  Damascus  blade  might  overmuch  excite 
cupidity. 


THE   ogre's    castle  371 

But  instead  I  ordered  the  fellow  away  as  one  that  has 
authority.  It  Avas  not  for  Launcelot  Kennedy  to  mix 
himself  with  a  common  brawling  dog  like  Chapeldon- 
nan. 

"  It  wants  but  the  tickling  of  a  straw,"  cried  the  little 
man,  "that  I  should  spit  you  through,  like  a  paddock  to 
bait  a  line  for  geds.  And'  but  for  your  wife's  sake,  who 
is  a  civil-spoken  woman  by  ill-fortune  tied  to  a  ruffian,  I 
should  do  it." 

Then  seeing  that  together  we  were  overstrong  for  him, 
James  Bannatyne  took  himself  away,  growling  curses  and 
threatenings  as  to  what  should  happen  to  us  before  we 
got  clear  of  Carrick.  However,  we  took  little  heed  to  the 
empty  boaster,  but  went  our  ways  down  into  the  town  of 
Girvan. 

Here  it  came  to  my  mind  to  hire  a  boat  and  provision 
her  as  it  were  to  go  to  the  island  of  Arran.  And  nothing 
would  set  me  till  I  had  it  done.  So  on  the  south  beach 
we  found  a  man  cleaning  just  such  a  boat  as  we  needed, 
with  a  half-deck  on  her  and  a  little  mast  which  would  go 
either  up  or  down.  For  throe  mcrks  in  silver  we  got  the 
use  of  the  boat  for  a  month,  and  with  her  both  suitable 
oars  and  sails.  He  was  going  to  the  haying  in  the  parish 
of  Colmonel,  the  owner  said,  but  lest  we  should  lose  her 
we  must  deposit  with  the  minister  or  the  provost  of  the 
town  other  thirty  merks  as  the  value  of  the  boat,  which 
money  should  again  be  ours  when  we  returned  to  claim 
it.  So  to  the  provost  we  went,  whom  we  found  a 
hearty,  red-faced  man,  a  dealer  in  provisions  and  all 
manner  of  victual.  Of  these  we  took  a  sufficient  car- 
go on  board,  and,  having  paid  down  our  thirty  merks, 
early  one  morning  we  laid  our  course  for  the  Isle  of 
Arran. 

But  when  we  had  gone  screeving  well  across  with  a 
following  wind,  we  lay  to  under  Pladda  till  it  was  dusk, 
and  then  with  a  breeze  shifted  to  our  quarter  we  bore 


272  THE   GKAY   MAN 

down  on  Ailsa.  I  knew  not  very  well  what  we  shonlcl 
find  there,  but  I  judged  that  we  would  at  least  come  on 
some  traces  of  the  murderous  crew,  which  might  help  us 
to  clear  up  some  of  their  secrets.  For  I  judged  that 
James  Banuatyne  did  not  spend  his  nights  out  of  bed  in 
order  to  wile  a  few  solan  geese  off  the  rocks  of  Ailsa. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI 

THE   DEFEISTCE   OF   CASTLE   AILSA 

Now  the  Isle  of  Ailsa  is  little  more  than  a  great  lump- 
ing crag  set  askew  in  the  sea.  Nevertheless,  it  has  both 
landing-place  and  pasturage,  house  of  refuge  and  place 
of  defence.  The  island  was  not  new  to  me,  for  I  had 
once  upon  a  time  gone  thither  out  of  curiosity  after  the 
matter  of  Barclay,  Laird  of  Ladyland,  who,  in  his  mad- 
ness, thought  to  make  it  a  place  of  arms  for  the  Papists 
in  the  year  of  the  Spanish  Armada,  but  was  prevented 
and  slain  at  the  instance  of  Andrew  Knox,  one  of  the 
good  reforming  name.  Minister  of  Paisley.  This  last 
was  a  wonderfully  clever  man,  and  accounted  a  moving 
preacher ;  but  on  this  occasion  he  showed  himself  a 
better  fighter — which  upon  Craig  Ailsa,  at  least,  is  more 
to  the  purpose. 

It  was  the  dusk  of  the  morning  when  we  ran  into  the 
spit  of  shingle  which  is  upon  the  eastern  side,  and,  watch- 
ing our  chance,  we  drew  the  boat  ashore.  The  sea  was 
chill  and  calm,  only  a  little  ruffled  by  the  night  wind, 
and  the  sun  was  already  brightening  the  sky  to  the  east, 
so  that  the  Byne  Hill  and  Brown  Carrick  stood  black 
against  it. 

With  great  stealth  and  quiet  we  climbed  up  the  narrow 
path,  seeing  nothing,  however,  save  a  pasturing  goat 
that  sprang  away  as  we  came  near.  It  was  eerie  enough 
work,  for  the  sea-birds  clanged  around  us,  yammering 
and  chunnering  querulously  among  themselves  on  the 
main  cliffs  at  the  farther  side  of  the  isle.     It  grew  a  lit- 


274  THE   GRAY   MAN 

tie  lighter  when  we   came  out  upon  the  narrow  path 
which  leads  to  the  castle. 

Suddenly  the  dark  door  of  the  tower  loomed  before  us 
very  black  and  grim.  I  declare  it  was  like  marching  up 
to  the  cannon's  mouth  to  walk  up  that  little  flight  of 
stairs  which  led  to  the  door  in  the  wall.  Nevertheless,  I 
clambered  first,  with  a  curious  j^i'icking  down  my  back 
and  a  slackness  about  the  knees.  So  all  unscathed  we 
entered.  There  was  only  emptiness  in  all  the  chambers. 
The  castle  had  been  almost  wholly  ruined  and  spoiled, 
for  since  its  taking  by  the  Protestant  party  it  had  not 
been  touched  nor  put  in  defence.  "  Now  I  will  bring 
up  the  provender.  Keep  you  the  castle,"  said  I  to  the 
little  dominie,  as  soon  as  Ave  were  certified  that  we  were 
first  in  possession. 

So  I  went  down  and  made  first  one  back-load  and  then 
another  of  those  things  which  we  had  bought  at  Girvan 
and  placed  in  the  boat.  I  brought  up  also  all  the  am- 
munition for  the  hackbutt  and  the  pistols.  Before  I  had 
finished  the  sky  grew  gray  and  clear,  the  day  breaking 
nobly,  with  only  a  rack  of  cloud  racing  up  the  far  side  of 
Kilbrannan  Sound  to  hang  upon  the  chill  shark's  teeth 
of  the  mountains  of  Arran.  Upon  my  return  I  was  glad 
to  find  the  castle  intact,  and  the  little  man  seated  calm- 
ly with  a  book,  in  his  hand. 

"  Did  you  never  so  much  as  shut  the  outer  door  ?"  I 
asked  him. 

"  And  shut  you  without?"  said  he.  "  Ts  it  likely?  Ye 
might  have  had  to  come  along  that  footpath  with  only 
your  limber  legs  to  keep  your  tail,  and  Tam  o'  Drum- 
murchie  or  Sawny  Bean  jumping  ahint  ye  !" 

So  before  we  went  to  examine  the  nooks  and  crannies 
of  the  Craig  either  for  enemies  or  treasure-boxes,  Ave  re- 
solved to  put  the  castle  into  as  good  a  state  of  defence  as 
Ave  could. 

First  we  drew  in  the  rough  Avooden  steps  Avhich  led  to 


THE    DEFENCE    OF   CASTLE   AILSA  375 

the  door  in  tho  wall  by  which  wc  had  entered,  so  that 
only  the  little  projections  whereon  the  wood  had  rested 
were  left  to  afford  foothold  to  any  besieger.  Then  we 
closed  and  barricaded  the  door,  for  the  huge  iron  bolt 
was  yet  in  its  place  and  ran  securely  into  tho  stone  of  the 
wall  itself  for  quite  two  feet. 

When  the  day  broke  fully  I  went  up  to  the  turret  top 
to  look  about  me. 

"  Saye  us  !"  I  cried  down  to  the  little  man.  "  Come 
hither,  dominie !  Is  not  that  our  boat  out  there  with 
men  in  her  ?" 

The  dominie  ran  up,  and  looked  long  and  earnestly. 

^'Ay,  deed  is  it  that,"  he  made  answer.  "We  are 
trapped,  Launcelot,  for  all  our  cleverness.  And  if  these 
chiels  be  our  enemies,  I  doubt  that  we  are  as  good  as 
dead  men  in  the  jaws  of  the  Wolf  of  Drummurchie." 

The  men  in  the  boat  kept  leaning  back  and  looking  up 
at  the  cliffs,  as  if  to  get  sight  of  something.  Sometimes 
they  went  completely  out  of  view,  as  it  had  been  close 
into  the  bulk  of  the  isle,  mayhap  to  examine  more  care- 
fully some  cave  or  lurking-place. 

"We  had  better  look  well  to  our  priming,  and  set  a 
watch,"  said  I.  "  We  shall  have  visitors  this  day  at  Cas- 
tle Ailsa,  or  my  name  is  not  Launcelot  Kennedy." 

But  the  hours  passed  slowly  on  from  nine  till  noon 
before  we  heard  a  sound  or  saw  a  living  creature  besides 
the  geese  and  the  gulls.  After  the  boat  had  gone  west- 
ward out  of  sight  we  waxed  weary  at  our  posts  on  the 
top  of  the  turret.  I  went  down  to  look  at  the  cupboards 
of  the  chambers.  There  I  was  rooting  and  exploring 
when  I  heard  the  dominie  whispering  loudly  to  me  to  run 
up  hastily  into  the  tower. 

He  told  me  how  that  a  stone  had  come  pelting  against 
the  wall  on  the  side  towards  the  hill.  Now  the  castle 
sits  on  the  verge  of  the  precipice,  and  only  a  narrow  path 
leads  to  it  along  the  cliff.      But  behind  there  is  a  little 


276  THE   GEAY    MAN 

courtyard  to  landward,  uow  mostly  ruined  and  broken 
down.  It  was  from  this  side,  so  Dominie  Mure  whispered 
to  me,  that  the  stone  had  come. 

"  Tut,  man,''  said  I,  "  you  are  losing  your  nerve  with 
this  playing  hide-and-seek.  It  was  but  a  billy-goat's  foot 
that  spurned  it,  and  so  naturally  it  came  bumming  down 
the  hillside." 

"  Then,"  he  replied,  grimly,  "  it  was  a  billy-goat  as  big 
as  an  elephant,  and  it  will  ding  over  this  castle  into  the 
sea,  for  no  ordinary  goat  could  have  stirred  the  stone  I 
saw.  I  tell  you  it  popped  over  the  heuch  like  a  cannon- 
ball." 

But  we  were  soon  to  have  other  company  besides  that 

of  the  stone. 

For  presently  there  came  in  sight  a  man  walking  dain- 
tily and  carefully  along  the  path  which  led  to  the  door  of 
the  tower.  Now  he  would  pull  wantonly  at  a  flower,  and 
anon  he  would  skip  a  stone  over  the  cliff,  for  all  the 
world  as  if  it  were  a  Sabbath  afternoon  and  he  was  wait- 
ing for  his  lass.  But  I  knew  better,  for  I  heard  his  har- 
ness clattering  under  his  loose  coat  of  blue. 

"Where  gang  ye  so  blythe,  my  bonny  man  ?"  cried  the 
dominie,  suddenly,  from  my  elbow.  The  man  started 
back  and  set  his  hand  beneath  his  cloak,  but  the  dominie 

cried  : 

"Keep  awa'  your  hand  frae  your  hip,  young  man — ye 
may  need  it  to  preserve  your  balance  on  the  footpath — 
and  give  me  your  attention  for  a  wee." 

The  man  did  as  he  was  bid,  and  cast  his  eye  aloft, 
where  the  black  mouth  of  a  hackbutt  looked  discourag- 
ingly  down  upon  him. 

"Your  name,  friend  ?"  said  the  dominie. 

"I  am  James  Oarrick,  from  the  parish  of  Barr,"  said 
the  man  at  last. 

"  Ay,  ay,  slee  Jamie — Drumraurchie's  man,"  said  the 
dominie,  with    meaning.      "When   the    man   is   pooin' 


THE   DEFENCE   OF   CASTLE    AILSA  277 

gowaiis  and  skytiii'  slate  stanes  the  maister  is  no  that 
far  awa'.  Noo,  James,  e'en  turn  you  aboot  and  gang 
your  ways,  and  tell  your  maister  that  his  black  murder 
is  found  out,  and  that  there  are  those  on  their  way  to  this 
isle  that  will  put  the  iron  on  his  heels." 

So  the  man  who  had  called  himself  James  Carrick 
turned  obediently  about,  and  marched  away  the  road  he 
had  come.  Probably  he  had  been  sent  for  nothing  more 
than  to  know  if  we  had  stolen  a  march  upon  them  and 
taken  possession  of  the  strength  of  the  castle.  They  had 
our  boat — there  was  no  question  of  that.  We  were,  there- 
fore, set  here  with  only  two  back-loads  of  powder  and 
provisions  to  stand  a  siege  in  a  small  and  ruinous  tower 
upon  a  barren  cliff. 

Nor  was  it  long  before  we  had  news  of  the  enemy,  for 
as  we  strolled  up  and  down  the  battlement  walk,  which, 
as  is  common  in  such  little  fortalices,  went  round  three 
sides  of  the  tower — that  is,  round  every  side  except  that 
which  looks  inward  to  the  cliff  edge — a  number  of  scat- 
tering shots  came  from  all  about,  but  chiefly  from  above. 

We  could  hear  them  whistling  over  us  as  we  ducked 
our  heads.  We  got  ready  our  guns  to  fire  in  return  so 
soon  as  a  man  showed ;  but  the  many  bowlders  and  rocky 
humps  about  gave  the  enemy  great  shelter,  so  that  it  was 
no  easy  thing  to  take  aim  at  them.  However,  I  did  get 
a  steady  shot  at  an  incautious  leg,  and  on  the  back  of  the 
crack  of  the  hackbutt  came  a  great  torrent  of  swearing, 
and  this  I  took  for  a  good  sign. 

All  we  could  do  was  to  keep  the  little  courtyard  clear, 
and  to  shoot  whenever  we  saw  a  bonnet  rise  up  or  a  limb 
carelessly  exposed.  But  we  both  yearned  for  something 
more  lively  to  put  an  end  to  our  suspense. 

Nor  had  we  long  to  wait. 

From  the  east  side  of  the  tower  which  looks  to  the  sea 
there  came  the  sound  of  a  loud  report,  a  tumble  of  stones, 
and  then  a  loud,  continual,  and  most  pitiful  crying,  as  of 


378  THE   GKAY   MAN 

a  man  hurt  unto  death.  I  ran  up  into  the  battlements 
above  and  set  my  head  through  a  loop-hole.  Beneath  me 
lay  a  line-looking  young  man,  with  his  red  bonnet  fallen 
aside,  clad  in  a  short  white  coat,  with  doublet  and  hose 
also  of  red.     He  was  unarmed,  so  far  as  I  could  see. 

"  Who  are  you,  and  what  brought  you  there  ?"  I  cried 
to  him  from  the  turret-loop. 

A  massy  corner-stone  fallen  from  the  castle  lay  on  his 
chest,  and  a  pile  of  other  rocks  and  stones  was  heajDed 
about  his  legs.  He  turned  his  eyes  upward  at  me  and 
tried  twice  to  speak. 

At  last  he  said,  with  many  pants  and  piteous  groans, 
''I  am  Allan  Crosby,  from  Auchneil.  I  brought  you  a 
letter  from  my  Lord  Cassillis.  I  landed  below  and  came 
up  by  the  path,  but  when  I  got  near  I  heard  firing  and 
saw  the  door  shut.  So  I  tried  to  clamber  up  the  castle 
wall  to  cry  in  at  the  window  to  you,  because  you  were  my 
friends.  And  even  as  I  climbed  the  stones  of  the  castle  fell 
upon  me,  and  now  they  are  crushing  the  life  out  of  me." 

"Where  is  the  letter  from  my  lord  ?"  said  I. 

The  man  cast  his  eyes  about  him  as  if  to  look  for  it. 

"I  had  it  in  my  hand  just  now,"  he  said. 

I  saw  a  scrap  of  parchment  a  little  way  from  him,  and 
asked  if  that  were  the  letter. 

"  Tie  it  to  a  cord  for  me,"  said  I,  "  that  I  may  see  it." 

But,  by  reason  of  his  wounds,  he  was  not  able  to  reach 
it,  and  the  stones  pressed  so  bitterly  on  his  breast  that  he 
could  do  nothing  but  lie  and  groan  most  waesomely. 

"  Oh,  help  me,  or  else  end  my  misery,  for  the  love  of 
God," he  cried,  earnestly,  "for  I  am  at  the  point  of  death 
in  this  agony  !" 

I  went  all  round  the  top  of  the  tower  and  looked  about 
every  way.  Our  enemies  had  retired  farther  up  the  cliff, 
and  were  contenting  themselves  with  firing  an  occasional 
shot,  which  fell  harmless  against  the  walls,  buzzed  among 
the  battlements,  or  else  sang  past  us  into  the  sea. 


THE   DEFENCE   OF   CASTLE   AILSA  279 

I  called  the  dominie. 

"  Come  to  the  door,"  said  I.  "I  cannot  bide  still  and 
see  that  poor  man  suffer.  He  says  that  he  has  come  with 
a  letter  from  my  Lord  Cassillis.  It  may  be  so.  I  will  at 
least  go  and  see.  Drummurchie's  thieves  have  gone  up 
the  face  of  the  rock,  and  the  wounded  man  cannot  hurt 
me  much,  even  if  he  were  willing." 

Then  the  dominie  plead  with  me  to  bide  where  I  was, 
"  because,"  said  he,  "you  know  not  whether  it  be  not  an 
ambush." 

"I  cannot  let  a  fellow-creature  be  crushed  to  pieces 
before  my  eyes  and  abide  to  hear  his  death-cries,"  I  an- 
swered.    "  Come  down  and  hold  you  the  door  open." 

So  with  that  I  undid  the  bolts  and  put  the  dominie 
behind  it.  I  set  my  feet  upon  the  jutting  stones  on 
which  the  wooden  stair  usually  rested,  and  so  scrambled 
perilously  down,  holding  on  to  the  wall  with  my  right 
hand  the  while.  When  I  came  to  him  the  lad  was  lying 
gasping  on  his  back  Avith  the  stones  edgewise  on  his 
breast.  I  asked  him  how  he  did.  He  seemed  past 
speech,  but  was  able  to  motion  me  round  to  the  farther 
side.  There  I  stooped  gently  in  order  to  raise  the  great 
block  that  lay  upon  his  bosom. 

I  stepped  carefully  about  and  turned  my  body  to  ren- 
der him  my  aid  as  tenderly  as  I  could.  But  I  got  a 
sudden  and  terrible  surprise,  and  though  I  am  not  one 
much  given  to  fear  I  own  that  it  shook  my  heart.  Even 
as  I  stooped  over  him  the  fellow  flung  off  the  stones  as 
if  they  had  been  featherweights,  leaped  upon  his  own 
feet,  with  a  bended  pistol  in  his  hand,  and  stood  in  front 
of  me,  striding  across  the  path  which  led  back  again  to 
the  castle  door. 

At  the  same  moment  I  heard  a  loud  shout  of  warning 
from  the  dominie  that  the  enemy  were  again  coming 
down  the  brae.  I  had  no  time  to  draw  my  dagger,  and 
for  greater  lightness  I  had  left  my  sword  behind.     I  saw 


280  THE   GRAY   MAN 

the  rascal  make  him  ready  to  fire  at  me,  aiming  at  my 
heart.  So  I  remembered  a  French  trick  of  high  kick- 
ing which  Robert  Harburgh  had  once  taught  me,  for  he 
had  been  in  France  at  the  schools  with  his  master  the 
Earl,  and  had  learned  much  there  besides  philosophy. 

So  I  gave  the  fellow  my  foot,  shod  with  toe-plates, 
full  upon  his  wrist,  which  knocked  the  pistol  up  against 
his  chin  with  a  stunning  crash.  In  the  next  moment  I 
leaped  at  his  throat  and  overbore  him,  spurning  him 
with  my  heel  as  I  passed.  I  can  remember  leaping  wpon 
him  with  all  my  weight  from  the  toj)  of  one  of  the  very 
stones  the  traitor  had  pulled  down  upon  himself. 

Then  I  ran  fleet-foot  for  the  entrance  of  the  castle. 
Others  of  the  enemy  were  just  coming  about  the  corner 
when  I  reached  the  projecting  points  of  stone.  With  my 
heart  in  my  mouth  I  sjorang  up  the  little  juts  of  rock.  I 
was  almost  within  and  in  safety,  but  I  had  not  counted 
upon  the  swiftness  and  resource  of  my  gentleman  of  the 
fallen  stone.  He  was  hard  upon  my  heels  in  spite  of 
the  thundering  clout  he  had  gotten  on  the  jaw  from  the 
pistol.  But  luckily  my  brave  little  friend  the  dominie 
stood  ready  behind  the  door,  and  as  soon  as  my  hind- 
most foot  was  over  the  threshold  he  set  his  strength  to 
the  iron  handle  and  sent  the  massy  oak  home  to  its 
fastenings  with  such  force  that  it  struck  the  pursuer 
fair  on  the  face  with  a  stunning  crash.  As  a  stone  is 
driven  from  a  sling,  so  he  fell  whirling  over  the  stair 
head,  and,  unable  to  stop  himself,  he  went,  gripping 
vainly  at  the  rock-weeds,  headlong  over  the  cliff. 

This,  however — being  behind  the  door  and  fully  em- 
ployed in  securing  it — we  did  not  know  at  the  time.  But 
when  we  hurried  again  to  the  top  of  the  tower  we  saw 
the  enemy  swarming  down  the  cliffside  to  render  him 
some  assistance,  or  it  might  be  to  recover  his  body. 

'^Ask  him,  when  you  get  him,  if  he  has  another  letter 
from  my  lord  the  Earl,"  cried  the  dominie  after  them. 


THE    DEFEKCE   OF   CASTLE   AILSA  281 

"And  serve  him  right  well,  the  treacherous  hound/' 
muttered  the  little  man  to  himself,  "if  you  find  him  in 
pound  pieces  !" 

But  I  said  nothing,  for  I  thought  the  fellow  would 
mind  the  kick  that  I  gave  him. 

That  night  Thomas  of  Drummurchie  and  all  his  folk 
removed  from  the  cave  where  till  now  they  had  dwelt. 
They  went  over  in  our  boat  and  in  that  of  James  Banna- 
tyne  of  Chapeldonnan  to  the  mainland,  being  frightened 
(as  I  guess)  by  our  declaration  that  there  were  those 
coming  who  would  deliver  them  to  justice.  And  also 
being  dismayed,  as  I  make  no  doubt,  by  our  staunch  and 
desperate  defence. 

Thus  were  we  left  alone  on  the  muckle  weary  rock 
which  men  call  Ailsa,  and  which  thousands  of  free  men 
and  women  look  at  every  day  without  a  thought  of  the 
poor  prisoned  folk  upon  it. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 
THE   VOICE    OUT  OF   THE    NIGHT 

Now,  SO  long  as  provisions  last,  Ailsa  is  none  such  a 
bad  sanctuary,  and  we  might  have  passed  the  time  there 
very  well  had  we  possessed  minds  sufficiently  at  ease  for 
enjoying  such  a  hermitage.  The  sjDring  was  but  a  few 
yards  above  the  castle,  and  it  ran  crystal  clear  into  a  lit- 
tle basin  which  I  cut  in  the  rock.  We  had  enough 
victual  to  serve  us  for  a  month  with  the  provision  we 
had  bought  in  Girvan,  and  with  what  I  shot  of  the  puf- 
fins or  Tammy  Nories,  which  ran  in  and  out  of  their 
holes  all  day  like  conies  in  a  warren. 

Sometimes  we  would  climb  to  the  top  of  the  crag  and 
look  long  at  the  sea,  which  from  there  seemed  like  a 
great  sheet  hung  upon  Cantyre  and  Arran  on  the  one 
side  and  upon  the  hills  of  Galloway  and  Carrick  on  the 
other,  with  Ailsa  itself,  on  which  we  were  sitting,  in 
the  deepest  trough  of  it. 

A  few  boats  crept  timidly  about  the  shore,  and  a  little 
ship  sometimes  passed  by.  But  otherwise  we  had  for 
companions  only  the  silly  guillemots  that  couj)ed  their 
tails  uj^permost  and  dived  under,  the  fishing-gulls  that 
dropped  splash  into  the  water,  and  the  solan  or  solemne 
geese,  which  when  they  fell  made  a  bigger  plunge  than 
any,  even  as  on  the  cliffs  of  the  island  their  keckling 
and  crying  are  the  loudest. 

One  day  the  dominie  and  I  were  sitting  on  the  roof  of 
all  things  (as  the  summit  of  Ailsa  seemed  to  be),  picking 
at  the  grasses  and  knuckling  little  stones  for  the  idlesse 


THE   VOICE    OUT   OF   THE    NIGHT  283 

which  comes  with  summer  weather,  when  it  came  in  my 
head  to  rally  Eobert  Mure,  because  he  had  a  cold  hearth- 
stone and  a  half-empty  bed, 

'^You,  a  burgess  and  a  learned  man,  with  an  official 
rent  and  a  yearly  charge  on  the  burgh,  yet  cannot  get  so 
much  as  a  cotter's  sonsy  bit  lass  to  keej^  you  company, 
and  to  sit,  canty  like  Jenny  and  Jock,  on  the  far  side  of 
the  chimbley  lug.  Think  shame  of  yourself,  dominie. 
Any  questing  lout  that  can  persuade  a  tow-headed  Mall 
of  the  byre  to  set  up  house  with  him  deserves  better  of 
his  country  than  you.  Were  all  of  your  mind,  Maybole 
school  might  have  none  to  attend  it  but  dotards  and 
grandmothers  !  And  where  were  your  craft  then,  Soc- 
rates ?"  I  asked  him,  for  just  before  he  had  been  speak- 
ing to  me  of  a  certain  wise  man,  a  Greek  of  that  name. 

And  at  first  he  made  a  jest  of  the  matter,  as  indeed  I 
meant  it. 

"Never  fear,"  he  said,  'Hhere  will  always  be  enough 
fools  in  Ayrshire  to  get  more.  Maybole  shall  have  its 
share  of  these." 

And  indeed  that  hath  been  the  repute  of  our  town 
and  countryside  ever  since  Ayr  water  first  ran  over  its 
pebbles  ! 

Yet  when  I  pressed  the  dominie  further  upon  the 
matter  he  waxed  thoughtful.  His  face,  which  was  not 
naturally  merry,  took  on  a  still  sterner  expression.  Pres- 
ently he  put  his  hand  within  his  blouse  and  pulled  out 
a  little  string  of  beads,  such  as  Catholics  wear  to  mind 
them  of  their  prayers.  It  was  suspended  about  his  neck. 
This,  I  own,  was  a  great  marvel  to  me,  for  the  dominie 
was  a  strong  Eeformer,  and  showed  little  mercy  in  argu- 
ing with  men  still  inclined  to  the  ancient  opinion. 

He  gave  the  brown  rosary  into  my  hand,  and  I  turned 
it  curiously  about.  It  was  made  of  the  stones  of  some 
foreign  fruit,  most  quaintly  and  fantastically  carven  and 
joined  together  with  little  links  of  gold.     Between  two 


284  THE   GRAY   MAN 

of  the  beads  there  Ava,s  a  longer  portion  of  the  chain,  and 
upon  it  two  rings  of  gold  were  strung. 

"Once,"  said  the  dominie,  "there  was  a  maid  who 
had  promised  to  share  my  hearth.  One  ring  of  these 
two  was  mine,  to  wear  upon  my  finger,  and  one  was  hers. 
Upon  the  night  before  our  marriage  day  we  met  at  our 
place  of  tryst.  I  tried  the  ring  upon  her  finger  and 
wished  her  to  wear  it  that  night.  "  To  -  morrow  will 
serve  —  it  is  not  so  far  away  V  she  said,  and  slipped 
from  my  arms.  Under  a  new  -  risen  moon  she  went 
homeward,  singing  by  the  heads  of  Benane.  And  that 
was  the  last  that  these  eyes  ever  beheld  of  bonny  Mary 
Torrance,  save  only  this  necklace  of  beads  which  she 
wore,  and  the  stain  of  her  blood  upon  the  short  grass  of 
the  seashore." 

The  dominie  looked  long  to  seaward  at  the  flashing 
birds  that  circled  and  clanged  about  our  rocky  isle,  each 
tribe  of  them  following  its  own  orbit  and  keeping  to  its 
own  airy  sphere. 

"  And  what  happened  to  her  ?"  I  began,  but  got  no 
further. 

"  Murder,  most  foul,"  he  cried,  rising  to  his  feet  in  his 
agitation,  "horrible,  unheard  of  in  any  kingdom  !  For 
all  about  the  spot  where  these  things  were  found  was  the 
trampling  of  many  naked  feet.  And  some  of  these  were 
small  and  some  were  great.  But  all  were  naked,  and  the 
print  of  every  foot  was  plain  upon  the  sand  of  the  shore. 
Each  footprint  had  the  toes  of  the  bare  feet  wide  and 
distinct.  Every  toe  was  pointed  Avith  a  claw,  as  though 
the  steads  were  those  of  birds.  And  the  fearsome  beast- 
prints  went  down  to  the  sea-edge,  and  the  blood  marks 
followed  them.  And  that  was  all."  Then  the  dominie 
fell  silent,  and  I  also,  for  though  Ayrshire  was  full  of 
blood  feuds  and  the  quest  of  human  life,  this  was  a 
new  kind  of  murder  to  me — though  by  all  accounts  it 
seemed  not   rare    in   the  neighborhood  of  Benane,  for 


THE    VOICE    OUT   OF   THE    NIGHT  285 

I  minded  the  warning  words  of  the  Mistress  of  Chapel- 
donnan. 

"And  had  she  no  enemies,  this  Mary  Torrance?"  I 
asked. 

*■'  She  was  but  young,  and  of  birth  too  lowly  for  feuds 
and  fightings.  Besides,  who  in  Carrick  would  harm  a 
maid  going  homeward  from  her  love-tryst  ?" 

The  dominie  rose  and  walked  away  to  the  other  side  of 
the  Eock  of  Ailsa,  where  for  long  he  sat  by  himself  and 
fingered  the  necklace  of  beads.  His  face  was  fixed,  as  if 
he  were  making  of  the  rosary  a  very  catena  of  hate,  a  re- 
ceptable  of  dark  imaginings  and  vengeful  vows.  Scarcely 
could  I  recognize  my  quaint  and  friendly  dominie. 

It  was  that  night,  as  the  blackness  grew  gray  towards 
the  morn,  that  I  yielded  my  watch  upon  the  roof  of  the 
little  castle  of  Ailsa  to  the  dominie.  Too  lona:  I  had 
paced  the  battlements,  listening  to  the  confused  and  be- 
lated yawping  and  crying  of  the  sea-birds  upon  the 
ledges,  and  to  the  mysterious  night  sounds  of  the  isle. 
For  I  began  to  hear  and  to  see  all  manner  of  uncouth 
things  that  have  no  existence  except  on  the  borderlands 
of  sleep. 

The  dominie  said  no  Avord,  good  or  bad,  but  drew  his 
cloak  about  him  and  sat  down  on  the  rampart.  I  bade 
him  good-morning,  but  he  never  answered  me  a  word ; 
and  so  I  left  him,  for  I  judged  that  his  thought  was  bitter, 
and  that  the  tale  he  had  told  me  of  Mary  Torrance  lay 
blackly  upon  him. 

Yet,  when  I  went  below,  it  was  not  with  me  as  on  other 
mornings.  I  lay  down  upon  the  plaids  and  composed  me 
to  sleep.  Yet  I  remained  broad  awake,  which  was  an  un- 
accountable thing  for  me,  who  have  been  all  my  life  a 
great  sleeper.  I  lay  and  thought  of  my  friend,  sitting 
gloomy  and  silent  above  in  the  grayness  of  morn,  till  my 
own  meditations  grew  eerie  and  comfortless.  Often  and 
often  I  started  upon  my  cIIjow  witli  the  intention  of  go- 


286  THE   GKAY   MAN 

ing  to  him.  As  often  I  lay  down  again,  because  I  had  no 
excuse,  and  also  (as  it  seemed  to  me)  he  had  not  desired 
my  company. 

But  once,  as  I  lifted  me  up  on  my  elbow,  I  seemed  to 
hear  a  shrill  crying  as  it  had  been  out  of  the  sea.  '"^  Launce- 
lot — Launcelot  Kennedy  !"  it  said.  And  the  crying  was 
most  like  a  woman's  voice.  My  very  blood  chilled  with- 
in me,  for  the  tale  of  the  lass  murdered  upon  the  morn  of 
her  marriage  day  was  yet  in  my  mind.  And  I  thought  of 
naught  less  than  that  her  uneasy  spirit  was  now  come  to 
visit  the  man,  aged  and  withered,  who  sat  up  there  wait- 
ing and  watching  for  her  coming.  Yet  why  it  should  cry 
my  name  passed  my  comprehension. 

It  was,  therefore,  small  wonder  that  I  listened  long, 
lying  there  among  the  plaids  upon  the  floor.  But  the 
night  wind  soughed  and  sobbed  through  the  narrow  wicket 
window,  and  there  was  no  further  noise.  Thinking  that 
I  had  dreamed,  I  laid  my  head  upon  the  hard  pillow  and 
composed  me  to  sleep,  but  even  then  I  caught  as  it  had 
been  the  regular  beat  of  a  boat's  oars  ujoon  the  rullocks. 
And  anon  I  heard  my  name  cried  twice  and  thrice, 
"Launcelot  Kennedy  !  Launcelot  Kennedy  !  Launcelot 
Kennedy  !"  Whereat,  with  a  thrill  of  horror,  I  rose, 
cast  the  wrappings  from  me,  and,  with  my  naked  sword 
in  my  hand,  I  went  up  to  the  roof  of  the  castle. 

The  dominie  was  sitting  with  his  face  turned  seaward. 
He  heard  me  come  behind  him.  Without  turning  he 
put  out  his  hand. 

"  Did  you  hear  it,  too  ?"  he  said.  "  Go  below.  That 
which  shall  come  is  not  for  your  eyes  to  see  !" 

"But  I  heard  a  woman  call  my  name!"  I  said.  "I 
heard  it  twice  and  thrice,  plain  as  I  hear  you  speak  !" 

"Nay,"  he  said,  "not  your  name — mine  !" 

And  once  more  we  listened  together.  As  for  me,  I 
strained  my  eyes  into  the  darkness  so  that  they  ached 
and  were   ready  to  behold  anything.     I  gazed   out  di- 


THE    VOICE    OUT    OF   THE    NIGHT  387 

rectly  towards  the  sea,  from  which  the  sounds  had  come ; 
but  the  dominie  looked  along  the  path  which  led  jn-e- 
cariously  between  the  wall  of  the  isle  above  and  the  prec- 
ipice below. 

Thus  we  watched  as  it  seemed  for  hours  and  hours. 

Suddenly  I  heard  him  dra^y  in  his  breath  with  a  gasp- 
ing sound,  like  that  which  a  man  gives  when  he  finds 
himself  unexpectedly  in  ice-cold  water.  The  twilight  of 
the  morning  had  come  a  little,  and  as  I  looked  over  his 
shoulder,  lo  !  there  seemed  to  me  as  it  had  been  a  maid 
in  white  coming  along  the  path.  I  felt  my  heart  stop 
beating,  and  I,  too,  gazed  rigidly,  for  it  seemed  to  me  to 
be  Nell  Kennedy  coming  towards  us  robed  like  an  angel. 

*'She  is  dead!"  I  thought.  "Mayhap  the  clawed 
things  out  of  the  sea  have  devoured  her,  even  as  they 
took  Mary  Torrance  !" 

But  I  heard  the  dominie  say  under  his  breath,  "It  is 
she  !    It  is  she  !" 

For  in  the  moment  of  terror,  #hen  the  soul  is  un- 
manned, every  one  hears  with  his  own  ears  and  sees  with 
his  own  eyes,  according  to  his  own  heart's  fantasy. 

But  the  figure  came  ever  closer  to  us,  stepping  daintily 
and  surely  in  the  dim  light.  Again  I  heard  the  voice 
which  had  spoken  to  me  from  the  sea,  and  at  the  sound 
my  very  bones  quaked  within  me. 

"Launcelot !     Launcelot  Kennedy  !"  it  said. 

And  for  a  long  moment  the  figure  stood  still  as  if 
waiting  for  an  answer.  But  my  voice  was  shut  dumbly 
within  me.     The  dominie  stood  up. 

"Art  thou  the  spirit  of  Mary  Torrance,  or  a  deceiving 
fiend  of  hell  that  has  taken  her  shape  ?  Answer  me,  or 
I  fire  !" 

And  the  dominie  held  out  his  pistol  to  the  white- 
sheeted  ghost,  which  even  then  appeared  to  me  a  might- 
ily vain  thing  ;  for  how  can  a  spirit  fear  these  things 
which  are  only  deadly  to  flesh  and  bone  ? 


288  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

"1  have  come  to  see  Launcelot  Kennedy,"  answered 
the  voice,  and  it  ajopeared  awful  and  terrible  to  me  be- 
yond the  power  of  words.  I  could  not  so  much  as  fix 
my  mind  on  a  prayer,  though  I  knew  several  well 
enough.  "  I  have  come  to  seek  Launce  Kennedy.  Is 
he  within  ?"  said  the  voice. 

''What  would  you  with  him  ?  He  is  no  concern  of 
yours,"  said  the  dominie. 

"I  ken  that,"  said  the  voice.  "Nevertheless  I  have 
come  to  seek  him.  I  greet  you  well.  Dominie  Mure. 
Will  you  open  and  let  Helen  Kennedy  within  ?" 

And  with  that  the  light  came  clearer.  The  veil  of 
the  fantasies  of  that  fearful  night  fell  like  a  loosened 
bandage  from  my  eyes.  And  lo  !  there  at  the  tower's 
foot  was  my  dear  quipsome  lass,  Nell  Kennedy,  in  her 
own  proper  body,  and  I  knew  her  for  good,  sound  flesh 
and  blood.  Nor  could  I  now  tell  how  I  had  so  deceived 
myself.  But  one  thing  I  resolved — that  I  should  not 
reveal  my  terror  to  her,  for  very  certainly  she  would  laugh 
at  me  ! 

But  the  dominie  was  too  firmly  fixed  in  his  thought. 
I  saw  him  grip  his  pistol  and  lean  over  the  parapet.  It 
seemed  that  he  could  not  even  believe  the  seeing  of  his 
eyes. 

"Come  not  nearer,"  he  cried,  in  a  Avild  voice,  "for 
well  do  I  know  that  you  are  a  fiend  of  the  breed  of  the 
sea-demons,  whatsoever  you  may  pretend.  I  will  try  a 
bullet  of  holy  silver  upon  you." 

But  I  threw  myself  upon  him  and  held  his  arm. 

"  It  is  but  our  own  Nell  Kennedy,"  I  said.  "  What 
frights  you,  dominie  ?" 

For  I  resolved  to  make  a  virtue  of  my  courage.  And, 
indeed,  as  I  came  to  myself  first,  and  had  done  no  open 
foolishness,  I  thought  I  might  as  well  take  all  the  credit 
which  was  due  to  me.  "  See  you  not  that  it  is  only  Helen 
Kennedy  of  Culzean  ?"  I  repeated,  reasoning  witli  liim. 


THE    VOICE    OUT    OF   THE    NIGHT  289 

"  And  what  seeks  she  with  you  ?"  said  he,  still  strug- 
gling in  my  grasp.  "  I  tell  you  it  is  a  prodigy,  and  bodes 
us  no  good,"  he  persisted. 

"  That  I  cannot  tell,"  said  I.  *'  I  had  thought  her  safe 
upon  the  moors  with  my  mother.  But  I  will  go  down 
and  open  the  door  to  her." 

So  when  I  had  run  down  the  stairs  of  the  small  keep  and 
set  the  bolt  wide,  lo!  there  upon  the  step  was  Nell  Ken- 
nedy, her  face  dimpled  with  smiles,  albeit  somewhat  pale 
also  with  the  morning  light  and  the  strangeness  of  her 
adventure. 

I  held  out  my  hand  to  her.  Never  had  I  been  so  moved 
with  any  meeting. 

"  Nell !"  I  said,  and  could  say  no  more. 

"Ay,  Launce — just  Nell  !"  she  said.  And  she  came  in 
without  taking  my  hand.  But  for  all  that  she  was  not 
abashed  nor  shamefaced.  But  she  remained  as  direct 
and  simple  in  her  demeanor  as  she  had  been  about  Cul- 
zean,  in  the  old  days  before  sorrow  fell  upon  the  house, 
and,  indeed,  upon  us  all. 

"Take  me  up  the  stairs  to  the  dominie," she  said.  And 
I  took  her  hand  and  kept  it  tightly  as  we  went  ujDward. 
But  I  tried  after  no  greater  favors  at  that  time,  for  I  knew 
that  her  mood  leaned  not  towards  the  desires  of  a  lover. 

"  Ah,  dominie,"  said  Nell,  when  she  reached  the  top, 
"  this  Ailsa  is  a  strange  place  to  keep  school  in.  Yet  I 
warrant  you  that  geese  are  not  more  numerous  here  than 
they  were  in  Maybole  !" 

But  the  dominie  could  only  gaze  at  her,  thus  daffing 
with  him,  so  fixed  had  he  been  in  his  fantasy.  Then 
when  he  was  somewhat  come  to  himself,  we  waited  ex- 
pectantly for  Nell  to  reveal  her  errand  and  to  relate  her 
adventure,  and  she  did  not  keep  us  long  waiting. 

"  You  must  instantly  leave  Ailsa  and  come  back  with 
me,"  she  said.  "  My  sister  Marjorie  is  lost  from  Auchen- 
drayne,  and  we  three  must  find  her.     I  fear  that  the 

19 


290  THE    GRAY    MAN" 

Mures  have  done  her  a  mischief,  being  afraid  of  the  things 
that  she  might  reveal." 

"  How  knew  you  of  that,  Nelly  ?"  I  asked,  for,  indeed, 
it  was  a  thing  I  could  make  no  guess  at  myself. 

"It  was  one  morning  at  Kirrieoch,"  said  Nell, "as  we 
were  bringing  in  the  kye  out  of  the  green  joastures  by  the 
waterside,  that  a  messenger  rode  up  with  a  letter  from 
Marjorie.  She  asked  me  to  meet  her  at  Culzean,  and  to 
bring  you  and  any  other  faithful  men  whom  I  could  trust 
along  with  me.  And  thus  the  letter  ended  :  '  Foi'  gin 
I  once  win  clear  out  of  Aucliendrctyne,  we  have  tliem  all  in 
the  holloio  of  our  hand.  I  have  found  him  that  carried  the 
letter:" 

"  She  means  the  letter  to  John  Mure  that  took  your 
father  to  the  tryst  of  death,"  I  said. 

The  dominie  seemed  to  awake  at  the  words. 

"That  will  be  young  William  Dalrymple  she  has  fallen 
on  with  !"  he  cried,  in  much  excitement. 

I  rose  and  hastened  down  to  put  our  belongings  to- 
gether, which  were  scattered  about  the  castle.  As  soon 
as  I  returned  Nell  went  on  with  her  tale. 

"  Then  because  I  knew  not  where  you  were,"  she  said, 
"I  was  in  much  distress.  But  your  father  donned  his 
war-graith  and  rode  with  me  to  the  house  of  Culzean, 
where  he  yet  abides.  As  for  me,  I  could  noways  rest,  so 
I  set  myself  to  trace  you.  And  here  I  have  found  you. 
Pray  God  we  may  find  our  Marjorie  as  safely  !" 

"  But  how  did  you  manage  to  trace  us  ?"  I  asked,  for 
the  dominie  and  I  thought  that  we  had  well  hidden  our 
tracks. 

"  Oh,  I  got  the  kindly  side  of  the  goodwife  of  Chapel- 
donnan,"  said  Nell,  lightly.  And  when  I  heard  that  I 
did  not  wonder  any  more,  for  she  could  get  the  kindly 
side  of  any  one  if  so  she  chose.  Because  Nell  Kennedy, 
in  spite  of  her  taunting  and  teasing,  had  ever  a  coaxing, 
winsome  way  with  her  which  was  vastly  taking. 


THE   VOICE   OUT   OF  THE   NIGHT  291 

Then  we  fell  to  making  onr  plans.  It  would  not  do  for 
us  to  be  seen  leaving  the  Craig  by  day,  for  our  position 
was  plainly  in  view  of  keen  eyes  along  all  the  Girvan 
shore  and  at  Chapeldonnan  or  Girvanmains  as  well. 
And  worse  enemies  than  these  might  put  out  a  dozen 
boats  to  intercept  us,  or  simply  lie  in  wait  to  take  us  as 
we  landed.  Besides,  all  this  day  and  part  of  the  night 
there  befell  a  storm  which  lashed  the  waves  to  white 
foam  about  our  abode. 

With  more  than  a  woman's  ordinary  forethought  in 
adventure,  Nell  had  left  her  boat  in  a  cove  to  the  right 
of  the  landing-place.  And  indeed  I,  that  somewhat 
prided  myself  upon  my  wisdom,  had  not  taken  as  great 
precautions  myself — which,  among  other  things,  was  the 
cause  of  our  present  position  on  the  Craig.  So  we  three 
spent  all  the  day  in  cheerful  talk,  thinking  that  so  soon 
as  we  could  find  Marjorie  we  should  come  to  the  end  of 
our  perplexities,  and  have  the  guilty  in  our  power.  But 
in  this  we  spoke  without  knowledge  of  the  manifold 
shifts  and  stratagems  of  our  arch-enemy. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 
A    RESCUE    FROM    THE    SEA 

While  we  thus  waited  and  planned,  Nell  told  us  how 
that  she  had  remained  at  Culzean  till  there  seemed  no 
more  hope  of  Marjorie's  coming.  Then  there  arrived  a 
lass  of  the  Cochranes,  who  had  been  Marjorie's  tiring- 
maid  at  Auchendrayne.  From  her  Nell  learned  how, 
after  a  fierce  and  bitter  scene  with  the  elder  Mure,  Mar- 
jorie  had  fled  from  Auchendrayne,  none  knew  whither, 
escaping  all  their  toils  and  passing  their  inner  and  outer 
guard  under  silence  of  night.  Then  so  soon  as  she  had 
heard  this,  fearing  all  evil  to  her  sister,  Nell  set  out  to 
find  me,  believing  that,  in  the  absence  of  any  hope  of 
help  from  her  brothers,  I  might  aid  her  to  find  her  sis- 
ter and  to  clear  some  of  the  ever-deepening  mysteries. 

It  was  the  dusk  of  an  evening,  sweet  and  debonnair, 
when  we  left  the  castle  which  had  been  so  long  our 
home,  and  descended  the  perilous  steeps  to  the  foot  of 
Ailsa.  Here  we  found  Nell's  boat  safe  in  its  cove,  and 
immediately  we  pushed  out,  having  placed  therein  all 
our  weapons  and  belongings.  Nell  sat  in  the  stern,  and 
the  dominie  and  I  took  the  oars.  The  storm  of  the  night 
and  morning  had  abated,  and  there  was  now  no  more  than 
an  oily  swell  upon  the  water. 

There  was  little  talk  between  us  as  we  went,  for  we 
felt  that  our  lives  were  in  our  hands  and  that  we  might 
be  only  running  into  greater  perils.  I  supposed  that  the 
dominie  was  thinking  of  the  love  he  had  lost  by  black, 
unnatural  murder,  on  that  dangerous  shore  to  which  we 


A    RESCUE   FROM   THE    SEA  293 

were  making  our  way.  We  kept  well  to  the  south  of 
Girvau,  because  I  had  twice  gone  there  on  errands  which 
did  not  tend  to  make  us  favorites  with  the  Bargany 
Kennedies  and  their  supporters,  of  whom  the  townsfolk 
were  mostly  composed.  Besides^,  I  remembered  the  word 
of  the  rascal  whom  I  had  held  at  my  mercy  in  the  house 
of  Mistress  Allison,  the  Grieve's  wife,  at  Culzean  :  "The 
treasure  of  Kelwood  is  in  the  cave  of  Sawny  Bean  on  the 
shore  of  Bennanbrack  over  against  Benerard."  And  this, 
though  not  a  clear  direction,  pointed  to  some  promontory 
south  of  Girvan  and  north  of  Ballantrae. 

And  though  the  discovery  of  my  master's  death  Avas,  I 
trust,  first  in  my  mind,  I  need  not  deny  that  I  was  also 
mindful  of  the  treasure  for  which  so  much  had  been  ad- 
ventured first  and  last. 

It  was  a  high  tide  and  a  calm  sea  when  we  got  over 
into  the  loom  of  the  clifEs.  We  had  a  making  wind  and 
the  tide  was  with  us,  so  that  we  had  been  able  to  set  the 
sail  part  of  the  way,  for  a  little  mast  which  would  carry 
a  lug  sail  lay  snugly  under  the  thwarts  of  the  boat. 

The  dominie,  who  in  his  rambling  youth  had  followed 
the  sea,  both  steered  and  managed  the  sheet  as  we  drew 
nearer  the  shore,  Avhile  I  lay  over  the  bow  and  kept  a 
lookout  ahead.  We  steered  towards  a  light  which  went 
wavering  along  the  top  of  the  rocks,  for  we  opined  that 
it  must  be  some  shepherd  wandering  with  a  lantern  to 
look  for  a  lost  sheep.  Now  it  dipped  into  clefts,  now  it 
mounted  to  the  summit  of  the  crags,  and  anon  it  was 
lost  again  behind  the  screes  and  tumbled  cliffs  of  the 
coast. 

Suddenly  from  high  above  us,  where  we  had  last  seen 
the  light,  we  heard  sounds  as  of  pain  and  despair  —  a 
woman's  cry  in  her  extremity  —  not  weeping  or  beseech- 
ing, but  crying  only,  being,  as  it  seemed,  utterly  in  dis- 
tress. 

"  'Tis  our  Marjorie  !     I  ken  her  voice  !"  cried  Nell, 


294  THE    GRAY   31  AN 

and  we  all  strained  our  eyes  upward  to  the  dark  lieuchs. 
The  lantern  had  come  to  a  standstill  almost  directly 
above  ns. 

The  dominie  silently  took  down  the  mast  and  let  it  rest 
in  the  bottom  of  tlie  boat.  Our  sjDeed  slackened  till  we 
floated  without  motion  on  the  gently  heaving  water,  I 
continued  to  peer  into  the  gloom.  Yet  how  Marjorie 
Kennedy  could  have  come  to  be  in  danger  upon  the 
shore  of  Benane  was  far  beyond  my  comprehending  at 
that  time. 

"  Marjorie !  Sister  Marjorie !"  cried  Nell,  as  loudly  as 
she  could.  And  almost  as  she  spoke  I  saw  something 
white  descending  towards  us  from  the  cliff,  like  a  poised 
bird  that  closes  its  pinions  and  dives  into  the  water. 
The  smitten  waters  sprang  up  white  not  twenty  feet  from 
our  bows. 

I  stood  erect  on  the  stern,  scarce  knoAving  what  might 
hap,  yet  to  be  ready  for  anything,  balancing  on  both  feet 
for  a  spring.  And  as  soon  as  I  had  a  glimpse  of  something 
Avhite  which  rose  from  the  black  water,  I  sprang  towards 
it  ere  it  had  time  to  sink  again.  For  Nell  was  with  me 
in  the  boat,  and  it  was  my  opportunity  to  let  her  see 
that  Launce  Kennedy  did  not  do  all  his  deeds  standing 
thread-dry  on  the  solid  land.  I  declare,  so  much  was  I 
affected  and  worked  upon  by  her  crying  to  her  sister, 
that  had  it  been  Sawny  Bean  himself,  I  had  grappled 
with  him  there  in  the  salt  water. 

But  it  was  a  braver  weight  and  shape  that  I  held  in  my 
arm — even  the  slim  form  of  a  woman.  I  felt  a  thrill  run 
through  me  when  I  found  that  her  arms  had  been  tied 
closely  behind  her  back  both  at  wrist  and  elbow.  Nev- 
ertheless, I  gripped  the  cords  which  confined  her,  and 
struck  out  for  the  boat,  which  I  saw  black  like  a  rock 
above  me. 

It  was  no  more  than  a  minute  that  I  supported  the  girl 
in  the  water,  but  to  me  it  seemed  to  be  a  year,  for  I  was 


A    RESCUE    FROM   THE   SEA  295 

hill  born,  and  had  learned  the  swimming  since  I  came  in 
my  youth  to  Cnlzean.  And  this  never  makes  a  strong 
nor  yet  a  long  swimmer  like  the  shore-bred  boy,  who  has 
been  half  in  and  half  out  of  the  tide  all  day  long  every 
summer  season  since  he  could  walk. 

But  the  dominie  speedily  brought  the  boat  about,  for 
indeed  there  was  little  way  on  her  at  any  rate.  In  a 
moment  more  his  strong  hands  and  long  fingers  were 
lifting  Marjorie  Kennedy  on  board,  and  laying  her,  all 
wet  as  she  was,  in  the  arms  of  her  sister  Nell. 

Then  he  gave  me  a  hand  over  the  bow,  and  we  cowered 
low  in  the  boat,  letting  her  drift  inward  with  the  tide 
till  we  were  close  under  the  loom  of  the  land  and  in  the 
very  darkest  of  the  shadow.  \Ye  knew  well  that  they 
who  had  tied  Marjorie's  hands  would  be  on  the  lookout 
for  her  rescuers.    So  on  the  black  water  we  lay  and  waited. 

Nor  had  we  long  to  wait,  for  in  a  short  time  voices 
echoed  here  and  there  among  the  rocks,  and  the  lantern, 
with  others  which  we  had  not  previously  seen,  appeared 
far  down  near  the  edge  of  the  sea.  At  the  same  time, 
from  the  other  direction,  came  the  noise  of  oars  roughly 
thrown  into  a  boat  and  the  clambering  of  men  over  the 
side.  Then  we  were,  indeed,  in  sore  jeopardy,  for  the 
wind  had  died  to  nothing  under  the  land,  and  the  gray  sea 
lay  outside  the  shadow  of  the  cliifs  with  quite  enough  light 
upon  it  to  trace  us  by  if  we  rowed  out  in  that  direction. 

And  all  the  while  Marjorie  lay  silent  in  her  sister's 
arms.  I  had  cut  the  cords  and  chafed  her  hands  as  well 
as  I  could,  but  still  she  did  not  speak. 

The  pursuers  closed  rapidly  upon  us  from  both  sides, 
and  ere  we  could  think  of  a  plan  we  saw  the  boats  pushing 
out  with  torches  held  at  their  prows  by  the  hands  of  dark 
and  stalwart  men.  And  then  the  dominie  and  I  looked 
to  our  pistols  and  swords,  resolving,  if  it  came  to  the  sharp 
pinch,  to  make  a  good  fight  for  it.  For  Avhen  the  two 
boats  came  together  they  could  not  choose  but  find  us. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

THE    CLEFT   IN   THE   EOCK 

"Let  us  get  in  nearer  to  the  land/'  said  the  dominie; 
*"tis  the  sole  chance  that  remains  to  us." 

So  seizing  each  of  us  an  oar,  the  sea  being  perfectly 
calm  and  a  full  tide  lapsing  as  smoothly  upon  the  cliffs 
as  the  water  in  a  tub  wherein  goodwives  wash  their 
duds,  we  risked  the  matter  and  rowed  in  closer  to  the 
rock.  We  sought  if  by  good  chance  there  might  be 
found  some  inlet  where  we  could  land,  or  some  cave 
which  might  conceal  us  from  the  cruel  men  who  were 
seeking  our  lives. 

Nor  was  our  adventuring  in  vain,  for  as  we  cautiously 
advanced  into  the  blackness  the  wall  of  the  cliff  seemed 
to  retire  before  us,  so  that  the  prow  of  the  boat  actually 
appeared  to  push  it  steadily  back.  A  denser  darkness, 
a  very  night  of  Egypt,  surrounded  us.  Gradually  the 
noise  of  the  pursuers  dulled,  sank,  and  died  away.  We 
lost  sight  of  the  gray,  uneasy  plain  of  the  sea  behind  us, 
and  continued  to  advance  through  a  long  water  passage 
walled  Avith  rock,  the  sides  of  which  we  could  sometimes 
feel  with  our  hands  and  sometimes  fail  to  touch  with  our 
oars.  This  I  took  at  the  time  to  be  a  marvellous  dispen-' 
sation  of  Providence  on  our  behalf,  as  without  doubt  it 
was.  But  now  we  know  that  all  that  shoreward  country, 
owing  to  the  abundance  of  soft  stone  by  the  seaside,  is 
honeycombed  with  caves,  so  that  it  was  wellnigh  impos- 
sible to  miss  at  least  one  of  these  in  every  half-mile  of 
-eliS.  all  about  the  Heads  of   Benerard.     Yet   that  we 


THE   CLEFT   IN   THE    ROCK  297 

should  strike  this  one  of  all  others  appeared  a  thing 
worthy  of  admiration,  as  presently  you  shall  hear,  and 
showed  the  same  dispensing  and  favorable  Providence 
which  has  throughout  been  on  the  side  of  Culzean  and 
against  our  enemies  of  Bargany. 

Marjorie  and  Nell  still  sat  together  in  the  stern,  but  so 
dense  was  the  dark  that  we  could  see  nothing  of  them. 
The  dominie  and  I  took  our  oars  from  the  rullocks  and 
pushed  onward  into  the  cave,  hoping  to  come  in  time  to 
some  wider  space,  where  we  could  either  disembark  or 
find  a  passage  out  upon  the  land  above  us. 

And  so  presently  we  came  to  a  place  wonderful  enough 
in  itself,  yet  no  more  than  the  gateway  to  other  and 
greater  marvels. 

The  waves  which  had  scarcely  been  visible  out  on  the 
open  sea  ran  into  the  cave  at  regular  intervals,  and  in  the 
narrow  places  formed  themselves  into  a  considerable  swell 
of  water.  Before  us  we  could  hear  them  break  with  a 
noise  like  thunder  upon  some  hidden  strand  or  beach. 
This  somewhat  terrified  us  in  that  place  of  horrid  dark- 
ness, for  the  noise  Avas  loud  as  is  a  waterfall  in  the  time 
of  spate,  the  echoing  of  the  cave  and  the  many  contracted 
passages  and  wide  halls  deceiving  the  ear. 

So  our  boat,  being  poised  upon  the  crest  of  one  of 
these  smooth  steeps  of  water  which  rolled  onward  into 
the  cave,  advanced  swiftly  into  a  more  spacious  cavern, 
where  the  oar  could  be  used  without  touching  the  rock 
at  either  side.  The  sounds  now  came  back  to  us  also 
from  high  aloft,  and  we  had  the  feeling  of  much  air  and 
a  certain  spacious  vastness  above  us.  Yet  the  imprison- 
ing darkness,  confused  with  the  lashing  of  the  waves, 
wrought  a  kind  of  invincible  melancholy  which  weighed 
down  all  our  spirits. 

Presently,  however,  the  proAV  of  the  boat  took  the 
slushy  sand  in  a  coign  more  retired,  where  the  waves  did 
Tiot,  as  in  other  places,  fall  with  an  arching  dash,  but 


298  THE   GEAY    MAI!! 

rather  lapsed  with  a  gentler  wash  as  upon  a  regular  beach. 
Behig  in  the  bow,  I  lost  no  time  in  leaping  ashore,  and 
in  a  few  moments  I  had  the  boat  fast  to  a  natural  pier 
of  rock,  behind  which  the  water  was  quiet  as  in  a  mill- 
pond. 

Here  in  the  darkness  we  helped  each  other  out,  and 
feeling  ourselves  now  somewhat  more  safe  from  our  ene- 
mies, we  shook  one  another  by  the  hand  and  made  many 
congratulations  on  our  escape,  which  had  indeed  been 
marvellous. 

Even  thus  we  waited  for  the  day  to  reveal  to  us  whether 
there  were  any  passage  by  which  we  could  ascend  from 
the  deeps  of  the  Cimmerian  pit  wherein  we  were  enclosed, 
without  adventuring  out  again  in  our  boat  upon  the 
water,  where  our  enemies  watched  for  us. 

We  drew  close  together  upon  the  rocky  pier,  and  Mar- 
jorie  told  us  of  her  escape  from  the  Auchendraynes,  the 
strange  tale  of  which  shall  hereafter  be  given  at  length 
in  its  own  place.  Also  she  confirmed  the  message  which 
she  had  sent  to  her  sister,  that  she  had  discovered  all  the 
wickedness  and  certain  guilt  of  the  Mures  in  the  death 
of  her  father,  and  in  many  other  crimes.  So  we  saw  be- 
fore us  in  plain  case  their  condemnation,  if  once  we  could 
escape  from  this  snare  and  bring  their  iniquity  to  light 
before  the  King  and  the  Council.  Yet  all  the  while  it 
was  a  marvel  to  me  how  Marjorie  had  so  completely  for- 
gotten James  Mure  the  younger,  who  was  her  wedded 
husband,  even  though  she  had  never  rendered  to  him  the 
love  and  duty  of  a  wife. 

But  we  were  by  no  means  yet  won  out  of  the  Avood. 
And,  at  the  best,  our  case  was  not  a  particularly  com- 
fortable one.  The  dominie  and  I  had,  indeed,  provided 
Marjorie  with  such  wrappings  and  covertures  as  were  in 
our  power,  which  we  had  brought  with  us  from  the  isle. 
But  we  had  mainly  to  trust  to  the  virtues  of  the  strong- 
waters  of  France,  which  the  dominie  always  carried  about 


THE   CLEFT   IN   THE   EOCK  299 

with  him,  as  well  as  to  the  mildness  of  the  night,  that  she 
should  take  no  harm  from  her  fearful  plunge  from  the 
cliffs  into  the  salt  water. 

But  it  is  certain  that  the  perturbation  of  one's  spirit 
at  such  a  time  is  so  great  that  many  things  pass  without 
penalty  to  the  health  which  at  another  season  might  in- 
duce disease  and  death. 

Presently  we  found  that  our  boat  was  being  left  high 
and  dry,  the  water  ebbing  swiftly  away  from  us  towards 
the  mouth  of  the  cave.  We  had,  as  it  happened,  entered 
at  the  height  of  the  tide,  and  now  the  water  was  upon 
the  turn.  But  this  affected  us  little,  for  we  judged  that 
either  it  would  go  so  far  back  that  we  might  find  a  way 
of  escape  by  clambering  over  the  rocks  out  upon  the  land  ; 
or  else,  at  the  worst,  we  knew  that,  by  waiting  till  the 
next  tide,  we  should  be  able  to  return  the  way  we  had 
come.  At  all  events,  for  that  time  at  least,  we  thought 
ourselves  to  have  outwitted  our  jDursuers  and  to  stand 
no  longer  in  their  danger. 

But  we  were  briskly  to  learn  another  way  of  it,  for 
the  oftenest  slip  is  made  upon  the  threshold  of  safety. 

Marjorie  and  Xell  bore  themselves  through  all  these 
dangers  and  discomforts  with  the  greatest  courage. 
Never  had  this  come  home  to  me  so  strongly  before,  for 
the  maid's  shamefacedness  had  died  out  of  Marjorie 
Kennedy  ;  and  now  she  seemed  wholly  set  with  a  fierce 
jealousy  of  hate  to  compass  the  punishment  of  her  fa- 
ther's enemies. 

The  water  being  in  this  manner  retired,  and  our  boat 
lying  high  and  dry  iipon  a  shelving  beach,  I  proposed 
that  the  dominie  and  myself  should  attempt  some  ex- 
ploration of  the  place  where  we  found  ourselves,  while 
we  left  Nell  and  her  sister  by  the  boat  to  make  such  dis- 
positions of  their  cleading  as  would  countervale  the  dis- 
comfort of  Marjorie's  rescue  from  death. 

So  the  dominie  and  I  felt  with  our  hands  all  round 


300  THE   GRAY   MAN 

the  wide  amphitheatre  which  had  so  lately  been  filled 
with  the  salt  water.  We  had  no  difficulty  in  discover- 
ing the  narrow  passage  by  which  we  had  come,  for  down 
its  narrow  gullet  the  water  was  now  retreating  with 
great  swiftness.  But  we  seemed  to  be  at  the  sack's  end 
in  every  other  way,  so  that  we  looked  for  nothing  else 
but  having  to  return  to  the  same  place,  and  in  the  same 
way  by  which  we  came,  after  our  enemies  had  retired. 
So  swiftly  did  the  tide  run  back  that  it  seemed  as  if  it 
might  be  possible  for  us  to  walk  out  upon  our  own  feet. 
And  so  indeed  we  did,  but  in  a  very  strange  fashion. 

For  in  one  of  my  gropings  I  came  upon  a  projection 
of  the  rock  which  caught  my  foot  and  threw  me  forward 
upon  my  face.  As  I  fell  my  hands  touched  something 
like  a  flight  of  rough  steps  which  led  up  from  the  sand- 
ed floor  of  the  cavern.  Without  waiting  to  call  out  to 
Dominie  Mure  I  mounted,  with  my  heart  beating  fast 
with  anticipation,  and  at  the  top  I  came  into  a  narrower 
passage  than  any  we  had  yet  entered,  which  led  me  for- 
ward a  long  way.  As  I  went  the  air  felt  unaccountably 
lighter.  It  smelled  most  like  a  well-fired  room,  dry  and 
pleasant,  so  that  I  waited  only  to  ascertain  that  the  passage 
ended  in  another  apartment  before  going  back  to  com- 
municate my  fortunate  discovery  to  Marjorie  and  Nell. 

When  I  reached  the  boat  I  found  that,  by  the  skilful 
management  of  her  sister,  Marjorie  had  been  made  some- 
what more  comfortable,  and  that  the  dominie,  on  his 
part,  had  discovered  nothing  of  importance,  of  which  I 
was  glad,  for  it  became  me  to  be  the  leader  of  our  ex- 
pedition. So  I  bade  him  take  his  weapons,  and  with 
what  provender  we  could  carry  upon  our  backs  we  pro- 
ceeded all  of  us  together  to  the  rocky  stairway  leading 
to  the  drier  inner  cave. 

The  dominie  had  as  usual  brought  his  pipes  over  his 
shoulder,  from  which,  indeed,  he  refused  to  be  parted 
even  for  a  moment.     And  but  for  the  fear  of  the  noise 


THE   CLEFT  IN  THE   ROCK  301 

reaching  our  euemieS;,  I  think  that  there  and  then  lie 
would  have  played  us  both  reels  and  strathspeys — that 
is,  if  we  had  given  him  any  encouragement,  so  pleased 
Avas  he,  and  indeed  all  of  us,  to  leave  the  dark  cavern 
and  oozy  sand  upon  which  we  had  first  landed. 

We  were  not  long  in  ascending  the  stairs,  and,  as  I 
had  foretold,  we  found  ourselves  speedily  in  the  warmer 
and  drier  air,  like  that  of  a  habited  house,  which  was 
so  great  a  change  from  the  dripping  damp  of  the  lower 
sea-cave  that  we  rejoiced  greatly,  though  quite  unable 
to  discover  the  cause. 

Yet  there  was  something — we  knew  not  what — about 
the  inner  cavern  which  took  us  all  by  the  throat.  In- 
deed, we  had  not  gone  far  when  Marjorie  Kennedy 
gasped  for  breath,  and  said,  "■  Let  us  go  back  !  I  do  not 
like  the  place !" 

But  this  I  took  to  be  no  more  than  the  dashing  of  her 
spirit  by  the  adventures  of  the  night  and  the  terrors 
through  which,  as  she  had  already  told  us,  she  had  come 
in  the  dreary  and  dangerous  house  of  Auchendrayne. 

For  the  passage  broadened  out  into  a  wider  hall  with 
a  firm  floor  of  hard  earth,  as  if  it  had  been  beaten  or 
trampled.  We  had  hardly  been  in  this  place  longer  than 
a  few  moments  when  a  strangely  persistent  and  pervad- 
ing smell  began  to  impress  us  with  the  deadliest  loathing. 
It  was  sharp,  pungent,  and  familiar.  Yet  could  none  of 
us  tell  whence  it  came,  nor  in  what  place  we  had  smelled 
it  before. 

"  I  am  faint  unto  death,"  said  Marjorie,  leaning  heavi- 
ly on  me.     "Let  me  go  back,  Launcelot,  while  I  can." 

But  this,  for  the  sake  of  the  dryness  and  comfort,  I 
was  not  willing  to  do.  So,  stumbling  now  over  one  thing 
and  now  over  another  in  the  darkness,  I  made  shift  to 
find  a  farther  passage. 

I  chanced  to  put  down  my  hand  when  my  foot  struck 
something  heavier  and  more  massive  than  before,  and, 


303  THE    GRAY    MAN 

lo  !  to  my  horror  I  touched  the  side  of  a  wooden  tub  or 
vat.  And  scarce  had  I  moved  from  the  place  where  I 
was  before  something  cold  and  soft  brushed  my  face,  as 
if  it  had  been  suspended  from  the  roof.  My  heart  trem- 
bled, for  we  were  plainly  in  a  place  of  habitation  of  some 
unknown  and  terrible  sort. 

"  Stand  still  where  you  are  !"  I  cried  to  my  companions. 
For  I  was  afraid  that  they  also  might  come  against  one 
of  these  obstructions,  which  were  good  evidence  of  others 
having  been  in  this  abode  of  horror  and  darkness  as  well 
as  ourselves. 

Immediately  I  set  to  the  groping  again,  and  went 
stumbling  from  one  thing  to  another  till  I  came  to  a 
branching  passage  which  ascended  away  from  the  hall. 
And  since  here,  in  the  roomy  alcove  high  above  the  floor 
of  the  cave,  there  were  (so  far  as  I  could  find)  none  of 
the  vats  or  other  furniture  which  I  had  encountered 
about  the  sides  of  the  greater  cave,  I  decided  to  use  it  as 
a  place  of  temporary  shelter. 

So  I  made  my  way  back  to  where  they  were  all  stand- 
ing close  together,  and  I  pinched  the  dominie's  arm  in 
token  that  he  was  to  ask  no  questions.  Then  very  slow- 
ly and  stealthily  we  felt  our  way  to  the  little  alcove  which 
I  had  found.  And  as  often  as  I  stumbled  against  any- 
thing I  pretended  to  clatter  some  of  the  stuff  which  I  car- 
ried upon  my  back,  having  laden  myself  with  it  at  the 
boat.     And  so  passed  the  matter  off. 

At  last  we  came  to  the  hiding-place  which  had  been 
my  latest  discovery,  and  found  that  the  rock  was  cut  as 
it  had  been  into  seats  all  round  about,  while  the  path 
ascended  upwards  at  the  back  yet  higher  into  the  stone, 
by  which  I  judged  that  we  had  not  yet  come  to  the  end 
of  the  cavern.  Here,  in  the  high  alcove  or  gallery  above 
the  main  cave,  we  accommodated  ourselves,  and  disposed 
our  belongings  as  well  as  we  could  for  the  darkness.  The 
dominie  set  himself  to  arrange  them,  while  Nell  and  Mar- 


THE   CLEFT   IN   THE   EOCK  303 

jorie  lay  covered  up  together  in  our  plaids  upon  the  stone 
bench  which  ran  about  the  place^  and  which  appeared  to 
have  been  liewn  out  at  some  past  time  by  the  rude  art  of 
man.  But  I  myself,  to  whom  it  came  as  natural  to  be 
stirring  as  to  breathe,  set  about  making  a  further  explo- 
ration. 

Now  my  disappointment  was  great  when  I  found  that 
we  had  indeed  come  to  the  limit  of  the  cavern.  Search 
which  way  I  would,  my  hands  encountered  nothing  but 
rock.  Nevertheless,  I  continued  my  circuit,  standing 
upon  the  stone  ledge  and  groping  above  me,  for  it  was 
possible  that  there  was  some  fresh  passage  which  from 
this  alcove  might  lead  to  the  outer  air. 

Suddenly,  while  I  was  searching  with  my  hands  at  the 
top  of  the  steps  of  stone,  and  without  the  least  warning, 
my  finger-tips  fell  upon  something  which  felt  colder  than 
the  stone.  I  touched  metal — then  the  projection  of  a 
keyhole,  then  the  iron  corners  of  a  chest.  I  ran  my 
hand  along  the  pattern  of  the  metal  bands  which  bound 
the  lid.  What  wonder  that  my  heart  beat  vehemently, 
for  I  knew  in  that  moment  that  I  had  my  hand  upon  the 
Treasure  of  Kelwood  ! 


CHAPTER  XL 
THE    CAVE    OF    DEATH 

Foe  a  moment  there  in  the  darkness  I  stood  dazed, 
and  my  head  swam,  for  I  bethought  me  of  the  Earl's 
words,  as  well  as  of  the  words  of  the  Minister  of  Edin- 
burgh, and  I  knew  that  my  fate  stood  upon  tiptoe.  For 
here  in  the  finding  of  this  box  lay  all  my  life,  and  it 
might  be  my  love  also.  But  again  another  thought 
crossed  the  first,  damming  back  and  freezing  the  current 
of  hot  blood  which  surged  to  my  heart.  The  caird's 
words  in  the  Grieve's  kitchen  also  came  back  to  me  :  "  You 
will  find  the  Treasure  of  Kelwood  in  the  cave  of  Sawny 
Bean  in  the  head  of  Bennanbrack  over  against  Benerard." 

If  this  were  so,  there  was  little  doubt  but  that  we 
stood  in  the  most  instant  and  imminent  danger  of  our 
lives.  Yet  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  leave  the  treasure. 
Doubtless  I  ought  to  have  done  so,  and  hastened  our 
escape  for  the  sake  of  the  girls,  Nell  and  Marjorie.  But 
I  thought  it  might  be  possible  to  convey  the  chest  out, 
and  so  bring  both  our  quests  to  an  end  at  once — that  for 
treasure,  by  the  recovery  of  the  box  which  had  been  lost 
and  found  and  then  lost  again  upon  the  Eed  Moss ;  and 
that  of  vengeance,  by  the  certain  condemnation  of  the 
Auchendraynes  upon  Marjorie's  evidence. 

The  next  moment  mighty  fear  took  hold  on  me.  All 
that  I  had  heard  since  my  childhood  about  the  unknown 
being  who  dwelled  upon  the  shore-side  of  Benane,  and 
lived  no  man  knew  how,  ran  through  my  mind — his  mon- 
strous form,  his  cloven  feet,  that  made  steads  on   the 


THE   CAVE   OF   DEATH  305 

ground  like  those  of  a  beast,  his  huge,  hairy  arms,  clawed 
at  the  finger  ends  like  the  toes  of  a  bear.  I  minded  me 
of  the  fireside  tales  of  travellers  who  had  lost  their  way 
in  that  fastness,  and  who,  falling  into  the  power  of  his 
savage  tribe,  returned  no  more  to  kindlier  places.  I 
minded  also  how  none  might  speak  to  the  prowler  by 
night  nor  get  answer  from  him — how  every  expedition 
against  him  had  come  to  naught,  because  that  he  was 
protected  by  a  power  stronger  than  himself,  warned  and 
advised  by  an  intelligence  higher  than  his  own.  Besides, 
none  had  been  able  to  find  the  abode,  nor  yet  to  enter 
into  the  secret  defences  where  lurked  the  man-beast  of 
Benerard. 

And  it  was  in  this  abode  of  death  that  I,  Launce  Ken- 
nedy, being,  as  I  supposed,  in  my  sane  mind,  had  taken 
refuo-e  with  two  women,  one  the  dearest  to  me  on  earth. 
The  blood  rang  pingling  and  pricking  in  my  veins  at  the 
thought.  My  heart-cords  tightened  as  though  it  too  had 
been  shut  in  a  box  and  the  key  turned. 

Hastily  I  slipped  down,  and  upon  a  pretext  took  the 
dominie  aside  to  tell  him  what  it  was  that  I  had  found. 

"  Ye  have  found  our  dead-warrant  then.  I  wish  we 
had  never  seen  your  treasures  and  brass-banded  boxes  !" 
said  he,  roughly,  as  if  I  had  done  it  with  intent. 

And  in  troth  I  began  to  think  he  was  right.  But  it 
was  none  of  my  fault,  and,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  we  had 
been  just  as  badly  off  in  that  place  if  I  had  not  found  it 
at  all. 

After  that  I  went  ranging  hither  and  thither  among  all 
the  passages  and  twinings  of  the  cave,  yet  never  daring 
to  go  very  far  from  the  place  where  we  were,  lest  I  should 
not  be  able  to  find  my  way  back.  For  it  Avas  an  ill,  mur- 
derous, uncanny  abode,  where  every  step  that  I  took 
something  strange  swept  across  my  face  or  slithered 
clammily  along  my  cheek,  making  me  grew  to  my  very 
bone  marrows.    I  am  as  fond  of  a  nimble  fetch  of  advent- 

20 


306  THE    GEAY    MAN" 

ures  as  any  man,  as  every  believing  reader  of  this  chron- 
icle kens  well  by  this  time,  but  I  want  no  more  such 
darkling  experiences — specially  now  that  I  am  become  a 
peaceable  man,  and  no  longer  so  regardlessly  forward  as  I 
once  was  in  thrusting  myself  into  all  stirs  and  quarrels 
up  to  the  elbows. 

Then  in  a  little  I  went  soft-footed  to  where  Marjorie 
and  Nell  had  bestowed  themselves.  When  I  told  them 
how  we  had  run  into  danger  with  a  folly  and  senselessness 
that  nothing  could  have  excused — save  the  great  neces- 
sity into  which,  by  the  hellish  fury  of  our  enemies,  we 
had  been  driven — it  was  indeed  cheerful  to  hear  their 
words  of  trust  and  their  declarations  that  they  could  abide 
the  issue  with  fortitude. 

So,  a  little  heartened,  we  made  such  preparations  as  we 
could — as  preparing  our  pistols  and  loosening  our  swords. 
Yet  all  had  to  be  done  by  touch,  in  that  abode  of  dark- 
ness and  black,  unchristian  deeds. 

It  was  silent  and  eerie  beyond  telling  in  the  cave.  We 
heard  the  water  lapping  farther  and  farther  from  us  as 
it  retreated  down  the  long  passage.  Now  and  then  we 
seemed  to  catch  a  gliff  of  the  noise  of  human  voices. 
But  again,  when  we  listened,  it  seemed  naught  but  the 
wind  bloAving  every  way  through  the  passages  and  halls 
of  the  cave,  or  the  echoed  wing-beatings  of  the  uncanny 
things  that  battened  in  the  roofs  and  crevices  of  this 
murderous  cavern,  unfathomed,  unsounded,  and  obscure. 

But  we  had  not  long  to  wait  ere  our  courage  and  reso- 
lution were  tested  to  the  uttermost.  For  presently  there 
came  to  us,  clearly  enough,  though  faintly  at  first,  the 
crying  and  baying  of  voices  fearful  and  threatening.  In- 
deed, they  sounded  more  like  the  insensate  howling  of 
dogs  or  shut-up  hungry  hounds  in  a  kennel  than  kindly 
human  creatures.  Then  there  was  empty  silence,  through 
which  the  noise  came  in  gusts  like  the  sudden,  deadly 
anger  of  a  mob.     Again  it  came,  more  sharp  and  double- 


THE   CAVE   OF   DEATH  307 

edged  with  fear,  like  the  wailing  of  women  led  to  un- 
pitied  doom.  And  the  sound  of  this  inhuman  carnival 
approaching  filled  the  cave  with  shuddering. 

This  direful  crying  came  nearer  and  nearer,  till  we  all 
cowered  paleface  together,  save  Marjorie  alone,  who, 
having  been,  as  it  were,  in  hell  itself,  feared  not  the  most 
merciless  fiends  that  might  have  broken  loose  therefrom. 
She  stood  a  little  apart  from  us,  so  far  that  I  had  not 
known  her  presence  but  for  the  draught  of  air  that 
blew  inward,  which  carried  her  light  robe  towards  me,  so 
that  its  texture  touched  my  face,  and  I  was  aware  of  the 
old  subtle  fragrance  which  in  happy  days  had  wellnigh 
turned  my  head  in  the  gardens  of  Culzean. 

But  Nell  Kennedy  stood  close  to  me,  so  close  that  I 
could  hear  her  heart  beating  and  the  little  nervous  sound 
of  the  clasping  and  the  unclasping  of  her  hands — which 
thing  made  me  somewhat  braver,  especially  when  she  put 
both  her  palms  about  my  arm  and  gripped  it  convulsively 
to  her  as  the  noises  of  the  crying  and  howling  waxed 
louder  and  nearer. 

"I  am  vexed  that  I  flouted  you,  Launce,"  she  whis- 
pered in  my  ear.  ''I  do  not  care  a  docken  what  you  said 
to  Kate  Allison.  After  all,  she  is  not  such  a  truth-tell- 
ing girl,  nor  yet  by-ordinary  bonny." 

I  whispered  to  her  that  I  cared  not  either,  but  that  I 
was  content  to  die  for  her. 

''  Oh,  but  you  might  have  lived  for  me,"  she  moaned, 
''if  I  had  not  led  you  into  all  this  trouble." 

''Nay,  Nell,  my  dear,"  said  I,  hastily,  "speak  not  so. 
You  have  ever  been  our  saviour  and  our  best  fortune 
hitherto,  and  so  shall  be  yet." 

Then  (mock  us  not)  in  the  darkness  of  the  cave  we 
kissed  each  other  once  or  twice,  amorously  and  willing- 
ly, and  the  savor  of  it  was  passing  sweet,  even  when  we 
looked  for  naught  but  death. 

"  Give  me  a  dagger,"  Nell  said  to  me,  and  I  gave  mine 


308  THE   GEAY   MAN" 

own  to  her^  which  she  put  away  in  her  bosom,  as  I  judged, 
and  again  took  my  hand. 

Then  the  horrid  brabblement  filled  all  the  cave,  and 
sounded  louder  and  more  outrageous,  being  heard  in 
darkness.  Suddenly,  however,  the  murky  gloom  was 
shot  through  with  beams  of  light,  and  a  rout  of  savages, 
wild  and  bloody,  filled  the  wide  cave  beneath  us.  Some 
of  them  carried  rude  torches,  and  others  had  various  sorts 
of  back-burdens,  which  they  cast  down  in  the  corners.  I 
gat  a  gliff  of  one  of  these,  and  though  in  battle  I  had  of- 
ten seen  things  grim  and  butcherly,  my  heart  now  sprang 
to  my  mouth,  so  that  I  had  wellnigh  fainted  with  loath- 
ing. But  I  commanded  myself,  and  thrust  me  before 
Nell,  Avho  from  where  she  sat  could  only  see  the  flicker- 
ing skarrow  of  the  torches  upon  the  roof  and  walls — for 
the  place  seemed  now,  after  the  former  darkness  of  Egypt, 
fairly  bursting  with  light. 

Then  I  knew  that  these  execrable  hell-hounds  must  be 
the  hideous  crew  who  called  Sawny  Bean  lord  and  mas- 
ter. They  were  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages,  mostly  run- 
ning naked,  the  more  stalwart  of  them  armed  with 
knives  and  whingers,  or  with  knotted  pieces  of  tree  in 
which  a  ragged  stone  had  been  thrust  and  tied  with 
sinew  or  tags  of  rope.  The  very  tottering  children  were 
striking  at  one  another,  or  biting  like  young  wolves,  till 
the  blood  flowed.  In  the  corner  sat  an  old  bleared  hag, 
who  seemed  of  some  authority  over  them,  for  she  pointed 
with  her  finger,  and  the  uproar  calmed  itself  a  little. 
The  shameless  naked  women-crew  began  to  bestir  them- 
selves, and  heaped  broken  driftwood  upon  the  floor,  to 
which  presently  a  light  was  set. 

Then  the  red  climbing  flame  went  upward.  The 
wood  smoke  filled  the  cave,  acrid  and  tickling,  which, 
getting  into  our  throats,  might  have  worked  us  infinite 
danger,  had  it  not  been  that  the  clamor  of  the  savages 
was  so  great  that  it  never  stilled  for  a  moment.     But  in 


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> 
< 


THE   CAVE    OF   DEATH  309 

time  we  became  accustomed  to  the  reek,  and  it  disturbed 
us  not. 

More  by  luck  than  good  guiding,  the  j)lace  where  we 
sat  was,  as  I  have  said,  favorably  situate  for  seeing 
without  being  seen — being  a  kind  of  natural  balcony  or 
chamber  in  the  wall,  like  a  swallow^s  nest  plastered  un- 
der the  eaves  of  a  barn.  We  learned  afterwards  that  it 
was  a  place  forbidden  by  Sawny  Bean,  the  head  of  the 
clan,  and  so  kept  sacred  for  himself  when  it  should 
please  him  to  retire  thither  for  his  ease  and  pleasure, 
with  whomsoever  he  would  of  liis  unholy  crew.  And  to 
this  no  doubt  we  owed  our  safety,  for  the  young  impish 
boys  roamed  everywhere  else,  specially  swarming  and 
yelling  about  our  boat,  which  they  had  just  discovered. 
I  noted  also  that  wben  auy  of  these  came  in  the  way  of 
the  men,  he  was  knocked  down  incontinent  with  a  hand, 
a  knife,  or  a  stick,  as  was  most  convenient.  Sometimes 
the  lad  would  lie  a  minute  or  two  where  he  had  been 
struck,  then  up  again,  and  to  the  playing  and  disport  he 
fell  as  though  nothing  had  happened. 

All  this  was  horrid  enough,  but  that  was  not  the  worst 
of  it,  and  I  own  that  I  hesitate  to  write  that  which  I 
saw.  Yet,  for  the  sake  of  the  truth,  tell  I  must  and 
will.  The  cavern  was  very  high  in  the  midst,  but  at  the 
sides  not  so  high — rather  like  the  sloping  roof  of  an  at- 
tic which  slants  quickly  down  from  the  roof-tree.  But 
that  which  took  my  eye  amid  the  smoke  were  certain 
vague  shapes,  as  it  had  been  of  the  limbs  of  human 
beings,  shrunk  and  blackened,  which  hung  in  rows  on 
either  side  of  the  cave.  At  first  it  seemed  that  my  eyes 
must  certainly  deceive  me,  for  the  reek  drifted  hither 
and  thither,  and  made  the  rheum  flow  from  them  with 
its  bitterness.  But  after  a  little  study  of  these  wall 
adornments  I  could  make  nothing  else  of  it  than  that 
these  poor  relics,  which  hung  in  rows  from  the  roof  of 
the  cave  like  hams  and  black  puddings  set  to  dry  in  the 


310  THE   GEAY   MA]Sr 

smoke,  were  indeed  no  other  than  the  parched  arms  and 
legs  of  men  and  women  who  had  once  walked  the  upper 
earth,  but  who  by  misfortune  had  fallen  into  the  power 
of  this  hideous,  inconceivable  gang  of  monstrous  man- 
eaters.  Then  the  true  interpretation  of  all  the  tales 
that  went  floating  about  the  countryside,  and  which  I 
had  hitherto  deemed  wholly  vain  and  fantastical,  burst 
upon  me. 

But  there  was  that  nearer  to  me  which  smote  me 
down  like  a  blow  taking  a  man  at  unawares.  As  I  stood 
up  to  look,  gripping  nervously  at  my  sword  and  peering 
over,  there  came  a  gust  off  the  sea,  roaring  up  the  pas- 
sasres  of  the  cavern.  For  with  the  moon  the  wind  had 
risen  without.  The  fire  on  the  floor  flickered  upward 
and  filled  the  place  with  light.  I  felt  something  touch 
my  cheek.  Speedily  I  turned,  and,  lo !  it  was  a  little 
babe's  hand  that  swung  by  a  cord.  The  wind  had 
caught  it,  so  light  it  was,  and  it  had  rubbed  my  cheek. 
By  the  Lord,  it  was  enough  and  more  than  enough!  I 
sank  down,  and  the  spirit  within  me  became  water  be- 
cause of  that  soft,  sliding  little  hand.  Had  the  naked 
devils  come  on  to  me  then  I  declare  I  had  not  found 
power  to  lift  my  hand  against  them,  nor  so  much  as  to 
set  a  finger  to  the  latch  of  a  pistol. 

But  in  a  little  while  I  was  strengthened,  for  now,  as 
though  I  had  never  seen  her  before,  I  saw  the  true  face 
of  the  brave  lass  Nell  Kennedy.  And  it  is  passing 
sweet,  even  in  the  presence  of  death,  to  see  the  eyes  of 
the  beloved  for  the  first  time  after  declared  and  un- 
ashamed love  has  come  into  them.  She  never  took  her 
sad,  steadfast  regard  from  my  face,  and,  as  I  say,  I  was 
infinitely  strengthened  thereby. 

I  could  also  mark  Marjorie  Kennedy.  And  since  she 
stood  erect  I  knew  she  had  seen  all  the  blasting  horrors 
I  had  witnessed — except,  perhaps,  the  babe's  hand  a-swing 
by  its  cord.     Yet  there  was  no  blanching  of  her  face. 


THE   CAVE   OF    DEATH  311 

Eatlier,  she  stood  and  eyed  the  scene  with  a  calm  and 
assured  countenance,  like  to  a  stake-kissing  martyr  ere 
the  flames  are  lit. 

If  ever  any  soul  had  cast  out  fear  it  was  that  of  Mar- 
Jorie  Kennedy,  for  unfathomed  hate  can  do  that  as  well 
as  perfect  love — and  especially  in  a  woman. 

But  when  my  eyes  fell  on  Dominie  Mure  I  got  a  yet 
greater  start.  The  little,  thickset  man,  who  had  been 
my  brave  companion  through  such  a  multitude  of  dan- 
gers, seemed  to  be  transformed.  A  still  and  biting  fury 
sat  inexorably  on  his  lips.  He  gripped  his  blade  as  if 
he  would  spring  straight  over  the  wall  of  rock  upon  the 
bestial  crew.  So  afraid  was  I  to  look  upon  him  and 
read  his  intent  in  his  burning  eyes  that  I  undid  for  a 
moment  the  clasp  of  Nell's  hand  upon  my  shoulder  and 
crawled  to  him, 

"  Have  a  care  Avhat  you  do,  dominie,"  I  whispered  in  his 
ear.     "  Kemember,  it  is  of  the  women  we  have  to  think." 

For  as  clearly  as  if  I  had  read  it  in  print  I  saw  his  de- 
sire and  his  determination.  He  thought  of  young  Mary 
Torrance,  the  lass  that  had  been  spirited  away.  And 
the  red  stain  on  the  grass,  and  the  ghastly  garniture 
about  the  walls  of  the  monster's  cave,  had  revealed  to 
him  the  conclusion  of  the  untold  tale. 

But  my  words  stopped  him  dead,  like  a  bullet  in  the 
heart  of  a  springing  wild-cat  on  the  bough.  He  looked 
just  once  at  me,  and  his  eyes  had  the  same  wild  glare. 
But  there  came  that  into  them  which  told  me  of  a 
thought  greater  than  the  stark  revenge  on  which  he  had 
been  all  intent  but  a  few  moments  before. 

I  bent  still  nearer  to  his  ear. 

"  Dominie,"  I  said,  "if  they  come  at  us,  mind  that  we 
are  not  to  leave  the  lasses  alive  to  fall  into  their  bloody 
hands." 

He  looked  at  me  with  a  haggard  face  and  shook  his 
head. 


312  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

"I  cannot  do  it !"  he  said,  and  set  his  hands  over  his 
eyes  to  hide  the  torches'  flare. 

When  he  looked  up  again  I  pointed  to  the  loathed 
things  that  decked  the  walls  in  the  eaves  of  the  cave, 
and  to  the  pickle-barrels  that  stood  in  the  corners. 

The  dominie  understood  and  nodded. 

"Surely  you  can  if  /  can/'  I  whispered  to  him.  "I 
will  take  care  of  Nell,  my  love,  if  you — " 

And  I  looked  at  Marjorie  so  that  he  understood  fully. 
Then  came  my  eyes  back  to  Nell.    They  felt  hot  and  dry. 

For  I  was  taken  with  the  reek  in  them,  and  my  heart 
rose  within  me  to  think  that  in  a  swift  tale  of  moments 
I  might  have  to  take  away  the  sweet  life  from  my  own 
heart's  love.  But  when  I  Avent  back  to  her  there  was  a 
new  light  of  understanding  in  the  face  on  which  the 
flicker  of  the  fire  was  reflected  from  the  roof.  I  knew 
that  she  had  seen  and  understood  the  import  of  my  col- 
loquy with  the  dominie,  and  our  looking  from  the  one  to 
the  other  of  them. 

Yet  the  fear  had  strangely  gone  from  her  face.  I 
declare  she  looked  almost  glad.  She  set  her  lips  to  my 
ear. 

"Launce,"  she  whispered,  "I  want  none  but  you  to  do 
it — if  so  be  that  it  comes  to  that.  You  will,  will  you 
not,  Launce  ?" 

Then  I  knew  that  she  had  understood  all  the  love  she 
had  seen  in  my  face.  For,  indeed,  I  would  rather  had 
killed  my  sweetheart  a  hundred  times  than  let  her  fall 
alive  into  the  hands  of  such  a  ghastly,  bestial,  devil's 
crew. 

So  Nell  Kennedy,  trusting  me  with  the  manner  of 
her  death  as  though  it  had  been  a  little  love-tryst  be- 
tween ourselves,  sat  looking  up  at  me  with  such  eyes  of 
love  and  trust  that  they  went  nigh  to  make  me  forget 
that  Cimmerian  den  and  the  ghoulish  beasts  that  rioted 
in  it. 


CHAPTER  XLI 
THE   WERE-WOLF    OF    BENERARD 

Thus  we  sat  a  long  time,  waiting.  Suddenly  there 
was  a  pause  in  the  noise  which  filled  the  cavern  below. 
I  thought  for  a  moment  that  they  had  discovered  us. 
But  Marjorie  moved  her  hand  a  little  to  bid  me  keep 
down  ;  and  very  carefully  I  raised  my  head  over  the 
rock,  so  that  through  the  niche  I  could  as  before  look 
down  upon  them. 

The  water-door  of  the  cave  was  now  entirely  filled  by  a 
black  bulk,  in  shape  like  a  grizzly  ape.  Even  in  the 
flickering  light  I  knew  instantly  that  I  had  seen  the  mon- 
ster before.  A  thrill  ran  through  me  when  I  remem- 
bered the  man-beast,  the  thing  with  which  I  had  grap- 
pled in  the  barn  of  Culzean  the  night  I  out-faced  the 
Gray  Man.  And  now,  by  the  silence  and  the  crouching 
of  the  horde  beneath  me,  I  learned  that  their  master  had 
come  home.  The  monster  stood  a  moment  in  the  door- 
way as  though  angered  at  something  ;  then  he  spoke  in 
a  voice  like  a  beast's  growl  certain  things  which  I  could 
not  at  all  understand,  though  it  was  clear  that  his  prog- 
eny did,  for  there  ensued  a  tumultuous  rushing  from 
side  to  side.  Then  Sawny  Beau  strode  into  the  midst  of 
his  den.  It  happened  that  by  misadventure  he  stumbled 
and  set  his  foot  upon  a  lad  of  six  or  seven,  judging  by 
the  size  of  him,  who  sprawled  naked  in  the  doorway. 
The  imp  squirmed  round  like  a  serpent  and  bit  Sawny 
Bean  in  the  leg,  whereat  he  stooped,  and,  catching  the 
lad  by  the  feet,  he  dashed  his  head  with  a  dull  crash 


314  THE   GRAY   MAK 

against  the  wall,  and  threw  him  quivering  like  a  dead 
rabbit  into  the  corner. 

The  rest  stood  for  a  moment  aghast.  But  in  a  trice, 
and  without  a  single  one  so  much  as  going  to  see  if  the 
boy  were  dead  or  only  stunned,  the  whole  hornet's  byke 
hummed  again,  and  the  place  was  filled  with  a  stifling 
smell  of  burning  fat  and  roasting  victual,  upon  the  origin 
of  which  I  dared  not  let  my  mind  for  a  moment  dwell. 

"When  Sawny  Bean  came  in  he  had  that  which  looked 
like  a  rich  cloth  of  gold  over  his  arm — the  plunder  of 
some  poor  butchered  wretch,  belike.  He  stood  with  this 
trophy  in  front  of  him,  examining  it  before  the  fii'e. 
Presently  he  threw  it  over  his  shoulders,  with  the  arms 
hanging  idly  down  in  front,  and  strode  about  most  like 
a  play-actor  or  a  mad  person — but  manifestly  to  his  own 
great  content  and  to  the  huge  admiration  of  his  follow- 
ers, who  stood  still  and  gaped  after  him. 

When  he  had  satisfied  himself  with  this  posturing  the 
monster  looked  towards  our  place  of  refuge.  A  great 
spasm  seized  my  heart  when  I  saw  him  take  the  first  step 
towards  us,  for  I  guessed  that  it  was  his  forbidden  treas- 
ure-house in  which  we  lurked. 

So  I  thought  it  had  certainly  come  to  the  last  bitter 
push  with  us.  But  something  yet  more  terrible  than  the 
matter  of  the  boy  diverted  for  the  moment  the  monster's 
attention.  The  lad  whom  he  had  cast  to  the  side  had 
been  left  alone,  none  daring  to  meddle.  But  now,  as  he 
passed  him,  Sawny  Bean  gave  the  body  a  toss  with  his 
foot.  At  this,  quick  as  a  darting  falcon  on  the  stoop,  a 
woman  sprang  at  him  from  a  crevice  where  she  had  been 
crouching — at  least  by  her  shape  she  was  a  woman,  with 
long  elf-locks  twisting  like  snakes  about  her  brow  and 
over  her  shoulders.  She  held  an  open  knife  in  her  hand, 
and  she  struck  at  the  chieftain's  hairy  breast.  I  heard 
the  point  strike  the  flesh,  and  the  cry  of  anger  and  pain 
which  folloAved.     But  the  monster  caught  the  woman  by 


THE   WERE-WOLF    OF   BENERARD  315 

the  wrist,  pulled  her  over  his  knee,  and.  bent  back  her 
head.  It  was  a  horrid  thing  to  see,  and  there  is  small 
wonder  that  I  can  see  it  yet  in  many  a  dream  of  the 
night.  And  no  doubt  also  I  shall  see  it  till  I  die — hear 
it  as  well,  which  is  worse. 

Then  for  a  long  season  I  could  look  no  more.  But  when 
I  had  recovered  me  a  little,  and  could  again  command 
my  heart,  I  saw  a  great  part  of  the  crew  swarm  thick  as 
flies — fetching,  carrying,  and  working  like  bees  upon 
spilled  honey  about  the  corner  where  had  lain  the  bodies 
of  the  lad  and  the  woman.  But  it  was  not  in  the  ordi- 
nary way  that  these  were  being  prepared  for  burial.  In 
the  centre  of  the  cave  sat  Sawny  Bean,  with  some  of  the 
younger  sort  of  the  women  pawing  over  him  and  bandag- 
ing his  wounded  shoulder.  He  was  growling  and  spit- 
ting inarticulately  all  the  while  like  a  wild-cat.  And 
every  time  his  shoulder  hurt  him  as  the  women  worked 
with  the  wound  and  mouthed  it,  he  would  take  liis  other 
hand  and  strike  one  of  them  down,  as  though  it  was  to 
her  that  he  owed  the  twinge  of  pain. 

Presently  the  monster  arose  and  took  the  gold  brocade 
again  in  his  hand.  I  thought  that  of  a  certainty  now 
our  time  was  come,  and  I  looked  at  Nell  Kennedy. 

God  knows  what  was  in  my  eyes.  My  heart  within  me 
was  ready  to  break,  for  the  like  of  this  pass  had  never 
man  been  in.  That  I  should  have  to  smite  my  love  to 
the  death  within  an  hour  of  my  first  kiss  and  the  first 
owning  of  her  affection ! 

But  she  that  loved  me  read  my  thought  in  mine  eyes. 

She  bared  her  neck  for  me,  so  that  I  could  see  its  ten- 
der whiteness  in  the  flicker  of  the  flre. 

''Strike  there,"  she  said,  ''and  let  me  die  in  your 
arms,  who  art  my  own  heart's  love,  Launcelot  Kennedy." 

I  heard  the  beast-man's  step  on  the  stair.  I  looked 
from  Nell's  dear  neck  to  her  eyes  and  back  again  to  her 
bosom.     Then  I  lifted  my  hand  with  the  steel  in  it,  and 


816  THE    GRAY    MAK 

nerved  myself  for  the  striking,  for  I  must  make  no  mis- 
take. And  even  in  that  moment  I  saw  the  gleam  of  a 
dagger  in  Marjorie's  hand  also. 

Suddenly  a  tremendous  rush  of  sound  filled  the  cave. 
The  blade  fell  from  my  hand,  and  by  instinct,  not  know- 
ing what  we  did,  Nell  and  I  clasped  one  another.  The 
clamor  seemed  to  be  about  us  and  all  round  us.  Eoaring 
echoes  came  back  to  us.  The  bowels  of  the  earth  qiiaked. 
Yet  methought  there  was  something  strongly  familiar 
in  the  sound  of  it.  I  turned  me  about,  and  there,  stand- 
ing erect  with  all  his  little  height,  was  the  dominie.  His 
cheeks  were  distended,  and  he  was  blowing  upon  his 
great  war-pipes  such  a  thunderous  pibroch  as  never  had 
been  heard  east  of  the  Minch  since  the  island  pipes  skirled 
on  the  Eed  Harlaw. 

What  madcap  possession  had  come  upon  his  mind  I 
know  not.  But  the  effect  I  can  tell.  The  pack  of  fiends 
that  caroused  and  slew  beneath  stood  stricken  a  moment 
in  amaze  at  the  dreadful,  incomprehensible  sounds.  Then 
they  fled  helter-skelter,  yellyhooing  with  fear,  down  the 
narrow  sea-way  from  which  the  tide  had  now  fully  ebbed. 
And  when  I  looked  again  there  was  not  a  soul  to  be  seen. 
Only  over  the  edge  of  a  lappered  cauldron  the  body  of 
the  murdered  woman  (or,  at  least,  a  part  of  it)  lay  doubled 
— a  bloody  incentive  to  make  haste  out  of  this  direful 
Cave  of  Death. 

The  dominie  stepped  down  from  our  hidden  alcove  as 
though  he  had  been  leading  a  march,  strutting  and  pas- 
saging like  the  King's  piper  marching  about  the  banquet- 
ing-table  at  Holyrood.  I  declare  the  creature  seemed 
"^fey."  He  was  certainly  possessed  with  a  devil.  But 
the  very  fearlessness  of  the  deed  won  into  our  veins  also, 
for  with  steel  or  pistol  in  each  of  our  hands  we  marched 
after  him — ready,  and,  indeed,  eager,  to  encounter  aught 
that  might  come  in  our  way.  Ay,  and  even  thus  we 
passed  out  of  the  cave,  hasting  down  tlie  long  passage 


THE    WERE-WOLF    OF    BENERARD  317 

without  a  quiver  of  the  heart  or  a  blenching  of  the  cheek 
— so  suddenly  and  so  starkly,  by  way  of  unexpected  hope, 
had  the  glorious  music  brought  the  hot  blood  back  to 
our  hearts,  even  as  it  had  stricken  our  cruel  foes  with 
instant  terror. 

Thus  dryshod  we  marched  out  of  the  cave  of  Sawny 
Bean,  and,  as  I  am  a  true  man,  not  so  much  as  a  dog 
barked  at  us.  But  when  we  emerged  into  the  gray  of  a 
stormy  morning  and  reached  the  cliff's  edge,  we  heard 
inland  the  wild  voices  of  the  gang  yelling  down  the  wind, 
as  though  the  furies  of  fear  were  still  pursuing  them  and 
tearing  at  their  vitals.  What  they  expected  I  know  not, 
but  I  conceive  that  they  must  have  taken  the  dominie's 
pipes  for  whatever  particular  devil  they  happened  to  be- 
lieve in  come  to  take  them  quick  to  their  own  place. 
Which,  after  all,  could  not  be  much  worse  than  the  den 
in  which  we  had  seen  them  at  their  disport.  Nor  could 
all  the  torturing  fiends  of  lowest  hell  have  been  their 
marrows  in  devilish  cruelty. 


CHAPTER  XLII 
ANE    LOCHABEE   AIX  GIED    HIM   HIS   PAIKS 

So  once  more  tlie  world  was  before  ns,  and  strangely 
peaceful  it  seemed^,  as  if  somehow  or  other  we  had  died 
in  stress  and  riot  and  been  born  again  into  an  uncanny 
quiet.  There  remained  for  us  now  only  the  bringing  to 
pass  of  righteous  judgments  upon  the  wicked  ones  who 
had  compassed  and  plotted  all  this  terrible  tale  of  evils — 
these  murders  without  end^  these  hellish  cruelties^  and 
death-breeding  deceits.  For  the  vengeance  must  not  fall 
alone  on  the  crazed  outlaw  and  his  brood,  since  the  chief 
criminals  were  those  that  were  greater  and  wiser  than 
Sawny  Bean  and  his  merciless  crew. 

It  was,  as  I  say,  the  breaking  of  a  stormy  morrow  when 
we  faced  up  the  brae,  sword  in  hand,  finding  none  to 
withstand  us,  for  all  had  fled  before  the  music  of  the 
wild  Highland  drones.  Then  in  the  sustaining  quiet  I 
asked  the  dominie  by  what  inspiration  he  had  thought 
of  such  a  mad  thing  as  thus  blasting  upon  the  war- 
pipes. 

"  Oh,  it  just  came  to  me  !"  said  he,  lightly.  And  with 
that  he  wiped  his  chanter  and  set  the  drones  under  his 
arm,  letting  them  hang  down  as  though  they  had  been 
the  legs  of  a  lamb  which  a  herd  has  found  on  the  hill. 

But  our  troubles  were  not  yet  over,  for  we  had  to  pass 
through  many  miles  of  Bargany  country  ere  we  could 
reach  our  own  folk.  I  proposed  to  turn  landward,  for 
that,  as  the  crow  flies,  is  the  shortest  road.  But  the 
dominie  denied  me,  saying  that  since  those  cruel  mon- 


ANE   LOCHABER   AIX    GIED    HIM    HIS    PAIKS  319 

sters  of  the  were-wolf 's  band  had  fled  that  way,  the  closer 
we  kept  to  the  coast  the  safer  we  shoukl  be. 

We  made,  therefore,  only  such  a  detour  as  would 
enable  us  to  escape  the  town  of  Girvan,  which  was  a 
strength  of  our  foes,  and,  passing  by  Killochan,  a  pleasant 
and  friendly  tower,  well  set  in  a  wooded  valley  with  a 
view  of  our  old  strength  of  Ailsa,  we  hastened  as  fast  as 
we  could  march  with  the  women  in  our  company  to 
Culzean. 

Now  near  by  Killochan  there  was  a  school  and  a 
school-master,  the  name  of  him  John  Guid.  He  had 
been  for  a  long  season  a  friend  and  crony  of  our  Dominie 
Mure.  To  him  we  resorted,  or  rather  the  dominie  went 
alone  to  seek  him,  while  I  abode  with  Marjorie  and  Nell. 
It  was  over  in  the  afternoon  when  he  came  back,  and 
what  was  our  joy  to  hear  behind  him  the  trampling  of 
a  pair  of  hardy  ponies,  for  with  the  weariness  of  her  ter- 
rible quest  and  the  stress  of  the  night  in  the  Cave  of 
Death,  Marjorie  looked  dismally  near  to  her  end.  And, 
indeed,  I  am  not  sure  that  Nell  was  greatly  better. 

Marjorie  had  passed  some  part  of  the  long  march  in 
telling  us  in  bits  and  snatches  the  tale  of  her  sufferings, 
her  flight  and  capture,  and  how  by  evil  and  hateful  hands 
she  had  been  flung  into  the  water  from  off  the  Heuch  of 
Benerard. 

It  was  a  tale  of  most  tyrannous  wrong,  and  shall  be 
kept  for  its  own  place,  Avhen  Marjorie  came  to  tell  it  to 
a  greater  and  more  powerful  than  either  Launcelot  Ken- 
nedy or  Dominie  Mure  of  Maybole. 

I  shall,  therefore,  let  the  reader  wait  yet  a  brief  space 
for  the  explanation  of  many  things  which  are  dark  to 
him  now,  and  which  had  been  equally  dark  to  me  till  that 
gusty,  rain-plashing  morning. 

So  we  four  fared  northward  over  the  moors  of  Carrick, 
with  Marjorie  and  Nell  riding  upon  the  garrons,  and  the 
dominie  and  myself  hasting  along  by  their  side  with  a 


320  THE    GRAY    MAN 

hand  apiece  in  tlieir  stirrup-leathers.  We  were  just  by 
the  edge  of  the  Red  Moss,  and  going  straight  and  snell 
for  my  Lord  Earl's  house  of  Cassillis,  when  Nell,  who 
was  ever  our  most  keen-eyed  watcher,  cried  out  that  we 
Avere  pursued.  And  when  I  had  turned  me  about  and 
looked,  I  saw  that  of  a  surety  it  was  so. 

Then  I  thought  that  if  it  should  happen  that  we  were 
attacked,  it  might  be  as  well  to  have  the  advantage  of 
position.  So  I  posted  our  party  on  a  little  heathery 
mound,  having  an  open  lairy  moss  in  front  with  dangerous 
quags,  trembling  bogs,  and  square  black  islands  of  moss 
and  peat  standing  in  the  midst,  all  gashed  and  riven. 
Here  we  waited,  the  two  men  of  us  under  arms  in  front, 
and  the  maids  standing  close  behind  the  horses,  with  the 
bridles  loose  in  their  hands. 

I  had  cast  my  cloak  over  the  shoulder  of  Nell's  sheltie 
to  clear  my  arms  for  the  fray,  if  indeed  it  should  come  to 
the  clash  of  blows ;  and  it  pleased  me  well  to  see  her 
catch  it  without  a  word,  and  fold  it  like  a  wife  who 
watches  her  husband  and  is  pleased  to  anticipate  his 
need.  This  indeed  (I  say  it  twice)  pleased  me  well,  for 
I  knew  that  she  had  done  with  daffing  with  me  any  more, 
and  that  she  had  at  last  forgotten  all  the  matters  con- 
cerning that  pretty  tell-tale  Kate  Allison. 

The  three  men  who  rode  towards  us  were  at  first  to 
our  sight  like  ships  low  down  on  the  sea-line.  But  they 
mounted  steadily,  spears  and  pennons  first,  after  that  the 
shine  of  armor,  and  then  the  heads  of  their  horses, 
becking  and  bowing  with  the  travail  of  the  moss. 

Then  verily  we  that  stood  had  anxious  hearts,  for  we 
knew  not  whether  they  might  chance  to  be  friend  or  foe, 
and,  indeed,  it  was  well  that  we  looked  for  the  worst. 
As  they  came  nearer  we  saw  that  the  two  who  rode  ahead 
were  armed  in  a  knightly  way,  and  gripped  lances  in 
their  hands.  But  the  third,  Avho  came  behind  and  held 
a  little  aloof,  was  plainly  clad  in  a  gray  cloak  and  hat. 


ANE    LOCHABER   AIX   GIED    HIM    HIS    PAIKS  321 

"  It  is  Auchendrayne  and  a  younger  man,  with  the 
Wolf  of  Drummurchie  in  their  company ;  it  coukl  not 
well  be  worse,"  said  the  dominie.  "  We  are  like  to  be 
hard  bested." 

And  I  knew  that  Marjorie  Kennedy  looked  once  more 
upon  the  man  who,  in  cold  blood,  had  slain  her  father, 
and  also  upon  the  man  who,  according  to  the  law,  was 
her  husband. 

I  had  looked  for  them  to  call  a  parley,  and  had  set 
myself  in  front  to  acquit  me  well  in  the  barter  of  words 
before  the  damsels ;  but  I  was  not  prepared  for  the  event 
as  it  happened. 

For  without  a  word  of  preamble,  warning,  or  speech- 
making,  John  Mure  of  Auchendrayne  (he  in  the  cloak  of 
gray)  cried  out,  "  Have  at  them  !  Slay  them  every  one  ! 
'Tis  now  too  late  for  whimsies.  It  is  our  lives  for  theirs 
if  we  do  not." 

So  with  that  the  two  younger  men-at-arms  came  on, 
couching  their  long  lances  and  riding  directly  at  us.  I 
stuck  my  sword  downward  by  the  point,  naked  in  the  soft 
moss  at  my  side,  so  that  I  should  not  have  it  to  draw  out 
of  the  sheath  when  it  came  to  the  pinch.  And  for  the 
last  time  I  looked  at  my  pistol  priming,  and  longed  hor- 
ribly for  one  of  my  lord's  new  hackbutts  of  the  French 
pattern  out  of  the  armory  of  Cassillis. 

But  wishing  would  not  bring  them  or  I  had  had  a  dozen, 
each  with  a  good  Oulzean  man  behind  it,  with  his  finger 
on  the  touch.  But  yet  you  may  depend  that  my  imag- 
ination bodied  them  forth,  standing  there  useless  in  the 
press,  oiled  and  burnished,  as  I  had  seen  them.  And  all 
the  while  the  two  villains  came  on. 

Now,  in  a  plain  place  we  had  had  but  little  chance  to 
stand  against  them,  cumbered  with  the  women  as  we  were  ; 
but  the  peat  hag  I  had  chosen  for  our  defence  on  the  edge 
of  the  Ked  Moss  favored  us.  When,  however,  I  had  fired 
my  pistol  and  made  nothing  of  it,  save  only  the  clink  of 


322  THE   GRAY   MAN 

the  bullet  whizzing  oS  the  plate  metal,  they  got  time  to 
ride  round  the  main  obstruction.  Then  it  had  gone  hard 
with  us  indeed,  but  that  the  Dominie  Mure,  as  the  horses 
came  forward,  blew  so  sudden  a  snorting  blast  upon  his 
pipes  that  one  of  the  steeds  swerved  and  stumbled,  almost 
throwing  his  rider  to  the  ground.  Then,  ere  he  had  time 
to  recover,  the  dominie  was  upon  him  with  his  sword, 
springing  upward  and  striking  like  an  angry  etter-cap 
ever  at  the  face,  so  that  it  took  the  horseman  all  his  time 
to  defend  himself. 

The  other  drave  at  me  full  tilt  with  his  long  spear,  and 
though  I  leaj^ed  aside  from  the  lance-thrust,  I,  with  only 
my  pistol  and  sword,  had  been  no  better  than  a  dead  man 
at  the  next  turn.  But  Marjorie  Kennedy,  giving  the  bridle- 
reins  of  both  horses  to  her  sister,  seized  the  dominie's 
Lochaber  axe.  She  sprang  behind  the  visored  man,  and, 
hooking  the  bent  prong  in  his  gorget  collar  behind,  she 
pulled  him  down  from  his  horse  with  a  clash  of  armor. 
Then,  after  that,  there  remained  nothing  for  me  to  do 
but  to  set  my  sword  to  his  throat  and  bid  him  yield  him- 
self. 

By  this  time  the  frightened  horse  which  had  stumbled 
first  became  perfectly  mad,  and,  turning  in  spite  of  all 
that  Thomas  of  Drummurchie  could  do,  it  galloped  away 
with  him,  belly-to-earth,  across  the  Ked  Moss. 

Then  the  man  in  the  gray  cloak  also  put  his  horse  to 
its  speed  so  soon  as  he  saw  how  the  matter  was  like  to  go. 
For  he  had  kept  at  a  distance  and  taken  no  part  in  the 
fighting.  We  were  therefore  left  alone,  victorious,  with- 
out a  wound,  and  with  the  man  in  the  visor  our  prisoner. 

He  seemed  to  be  stunned  with  his  fall,  so  Marjorie 
stooped  and  undid  his  laced  steel-cap,  shelling  his  head 
as  one  shells  the  husk  of  a  nut  from  the  kernel. 

The  man  whom  she  revealed  was  James  Mure  the 
younger  of  Auchendrayne,  her  wedded  husband. 

AVe  stood  thus  some  time  in  wonderment  what  should 


ANE    LOCHABER   AIX    GIED    HIM    HIS    PAIKS  333 

be  the  upshot.  Marjory  Kennedy  (I  cannot  while  I  live 
call  her  by  any  other  name)  stood  looking  down  at  the 
man  to  whom  in  fonlest  treachery  she  had  been  given. 
Then  after  a  while  Nell  tonched  my  arm,  and  lo  !  on  the 
Moss  there  was  yet  another  man  on  horseback  coming 
towards  us.  I  knew  the  beast.  It  was  the  same  on  Avhich 
the  Wolf  of  Drummiirchie  had  ridden.  But  the  man  was 
other  than  the  Wolf. 

The  thing  was  a  mystery  to  us. 

But  at  last  Nell,  whose  eyes  were  like  an  eagle's  for 
keenness,  though,  as  I  have  before  observed,  of  heaven- 
ly beauty,  cried  out,  "  It  is  Eobert  Harburgh — we  are 
saved  !"  Which  was  no  great  things  of  a  saying,  for  I 
myself  had  saved  her  ten  times  during  that  last  night  and 
day,  if  it  came  to  any  talk  of  saving.  Yet  I  think  from 
that  moment  she  began  to  draw  away  a  little  from  me. 
Whether  as  remembering  some  of  my  old  ploys  with  that 
tricksy  lass  who  was  now  Eobert  Ilarburgh's  wife,  or  part- 
ly lest  she  should  have  seemed  to  be  over-ready  in  owning 
her  love  for  me. 

At  any  rate,  after  I  had  thought  over  her  unkindness 
and  sudden  chill  a  little  while,  I  was  not  sure  that  it  might 
not  be,  after  all,  the  best  sign  in  the  world.  For  as  the 
reader  of  this  chronicle  must  have  gathered,  I  am  a  man 
of  some  penetration  in  these  matters,  and  it  is  not  given 
to  any  woman  to  twine  Launcelot  Kennedy  in  a  knot 
about  her  little  finger. 

Also  I  have  had  very  considerable  experience. 

"Faith,"  cried  Eobert  Harburgh,  when  he  had  ridden 
up,  "whom  have  we  here  ?" 

I  answered  him  with  another  question. 

"  Where  gat  ye  that  horse,  Eobert  ?" 

"  I  got  it,"  he  replied,  readily  and  also  calmly,  "  from 
a  man  that  is  little  likely  to  need  it  again — at  least,  for  a 
tale  of  months." 

"  From  Thomas  of  Drummurchie  ?"  I  asked. 


334  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

"  Who  else  ?"  said  Harburgh,  simply^  as  though  the 
fact  had  been  sufficient  explanation  ;  as  indeed  it  was — 
in  the  way  he  said  it. 

But  all  the  while  Marjorie  stood  looking  calmly  down 
at  James  Mure.  He  recovered  little  by  little  from  the 
stunning  knock,  and  presently  made  as  if  he  would  sit 
up. 

"Tie  his  hands,"  said  Marjorie  Kennedy.  And  then, 
seeing  that  we  hesitated,  "  Nay,  give  me  the  halter,^'  she 
said,  "I  will  do  it  myself."  And  there  on  the  open 
moor,  with  the  bridle  of  his  own  beast,  I  declare  she  did 
the  binding  featly  and  well. 

"Now  listen,  James  Mure,"  she  said,  raising  her  voice, 
"ye  have  steeped  your  hands  in  my  father's  blood.  Ye 
have  shed  yet  more  blood  to  cover  that  crime,  even  the 
blood  of  an  innocent  young  child.  With  these  hands 
that  are  tied  you  did  these  things.  I  am  your  wife.  I 
will  never  leave  you  nor  forsake  you  till  you  die.  I  will 
see  that  you  have  fair  and  honorable  trial ;  but  be  as- 
sured that  I  shall  testify  against  you  truly  as  to  that 
which  I  know  and  have  seen." 

She  turned  to  us  with  her  old  easy  way  of  command, 
imperiously  gracious,  but  sharper  a  little  than  her  ordi- 
nary. "Mount  him  on  that  horse,"  she  said,  like  a 
queen  who  issues  commands  to  her  court. 

And  this  was  she  who  had  walked  gladsomely  with  me 
in  the  garden  at  Culzean,  and  who  in  smiling  maidenly 
condescension  had  given  a  love  -  sick  boy  her  favor 
to  wear.  What  agony  of  hell  had  passed  over  her 
spirit  thus  to  turn  the  sweet  maiden  to  a  woman  of 
stone  ? 

"  Whither  shall  we  take  him  ?"  said  I,  for  it  seemed  to 
me  not  at  all  expedient  to  delay  longer  than  we  could 
help  in  that  disturbed  and  fatal  part  of  the  country. 

"  To  the  Earl,  on  his  way  to  the  King !"  replied  Mar- 
jorie Kennedy. 


ANE    LOCHABER   AIX    GIED    HIM    HIS    PAIKS  325 

"If  ye  bide  still  half  an  hour  where  ye  are  ye  will  see 
the  Earl  come  hither/' said  Eobert  Harburgh.  "He 
rides  to  the  south  to  hold  his  yearly  Court  of  Bailiary  on 
the  borders  of  Carrick." 

For  since  the  great  defeat  of  the  Bargany  faction  and 
the  death  of  the  young  chief  at  the  gate  of  Maybole  upon 
that  memorable  day  of  snow,  my  Lord  Cassillis  had  gained 
more  and  more  in  power,  so  that  none  now  was  able  to 
make  any  head  openly  against  him.  The  death  of  Sir 
Thomas,  my  good  master,  had  also  thrown  all  that  addi- 
tional weight  of  authority  upon  his  shoulders.  Indeed, 
Earl  John  bode  fair  to  be  what  his  father  had  been  be- 
fore him — the  King  of  Carrick. 

His  titular  jurisdiction  had  always  included  the  south- 
ern parts  of  the  district.  But  it  was  only  of  late  that  he 
had  made  himself  so  strong  as  to  be  able  to  enforce  his 
authority  there. 

Now,  however.  Earl  John  was  riding  to  hold  his  court 
near  Girvan,  in  a  country  which  not  a  great  while  ago 
had  been  purely  a  stronghold  of  his  enemies,  and  which 
still  swarmed  with  the  disaffected  and  rebellious. 

So  even  while  we  stood  and  waited  there  Nell  cried 
out  that  a  cavalcade  rode  southward  towards  us  by  the 
edge  of  the  Red  Moss.  It  was  not  long  before  we  could 
discern  the  fluttering  pennons  of  blue  and  gold,  which 
denoted  the  presence  of  the  Earl.  He  had  with  him  a 
noble  retinue  of  wellnigh  four  hundred — all  handsome- 
ly armed — many  of  them  knights  and  gentlemen  of  his 
own  name. 

We  waited  for  them  to  come  up  with  us,  I  meanwhile 
keeping  close  by  Nell's  side,  and  Marjorie  Kennedy 
standing  steadfastly  at  her  husband's  head  and  looking 
at  him,  while  Eobert  Harburgh  marched  up  and  down 
with  his  hands  under  his  points  and  whistled  the  "  Broom 
o' tbe  Cowdenknowes." 

When  the  Earl  John,  riding  first,  as  was  his  custom, 


326  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

perceived  who  we  were   he  lighted    down   with   much 
courtesy  to  salute  his  cousins. 

"  HoAV  do  you,  ladies  ?  And  what,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  brings  you  hither  with  so  small  a  company  in  such 
a  dangerous  place  ?" 

Then  said  Marjorie,  "Earl  of  Cassillis,  you  are  my 
cousin ;  but  you  are  also  Bailzie  of  Carrick,  and  hold  the 
power  of  life  and  death.  I  take  you  and  all  your  com- 
pany to  witness  that  I  deliver  over  to  you  this  man,  called 
James  Mure  of  Auchendrayne.  He  is  twice  a  convict 
murderer — right  cruelly  he  slew  my  father  and  your  uncle, 
and  I  charge  him  also  with  the  fact  of  the  murder  of 
William  Dalrymple,  a  j)oor  boy  of  tender  years,  whom  he 
killed  with  his  own  hands  to  cover  the  first  deed — both 
which  accusations  I  shall  in  due  time  make  good." 

The  Earl  was  manifestly  mightily  astonished,  as  well 
he  might  be,  at  the  Lady  Marjorie's  declaration;  but  he 
was  glad  also,  because  it  was  no  light  thing  for  him  to  lay 
the  enemy  of  his  house  by  the  heels,  and,  seeing  good 
prospect  of  getting  the  Mures  attainted  and  denounced, 
to  be  able  to  make  himself  omnipotent  in  all  the  lands 
of  the  south. 

"Bring  the  man  along  with  us!"  he  commanded. 
"Let  him  have  all  tendance  and  care;  but  let  a  double 
guard  be  placed  over  him." 

"  I  will  be  his  guard  !"  said  Marjorie,  firmly.  "  I,  and 
no  other  !" 

Nevertheless,  Earl  John  named  a  retinue  to  ride  with 
Marjorie  and  her  husband,  in  the  name  of  a  guard  of 
honor ;  but  really  because  he  felt  his  fingers  already  on 
the  throat  of  his  house's  enemy. 

And  as  we  rode  back  the  way  we  had  come — now  nc 
longer  in  fear  and  trembling,  but  in  manifest  state  and 
pomp — Marjorie  sat  humbly  upon  a  sheltie  by  the  side 
of  the  man  who  was  lawfully  her  husband,  and  yet  Avliom 
she  had  most  sacredly  vowed  to  bring  to  the  gallows. 


ANE    LOCHABER   AIX    GIED    HIM    HIS    PAIKS  M7 

And  for  the  present  the  dominie  and  I  resolved  to  keep 
the  secret  of  the  Cave  of  Death,  and  of  the  fearsome  inner 
place  where  was  bestowed  the  Treasure  of  Kelwood. 

But  immediately  after  the  Court  of  Justiceaire  I  re- 
solved to  make  it  known  to  the  Earl,  for  so  Nell  and  I 
had  made  our  compact.  And  as  for  the  dominie,  he  might 
be  relied  upon  to  speak  or  to  be  silent  even  as  I  bade  him. 


CHAPTER   XLIII 

THE   MOOT   HILL   OF   GIRVAK 

As  may  well  be  imagined,  two  hundred  gentlemen,  with 
their  retinue  of  as  many  more  of  the  commonalty,  made 
a  gallant  stir,  and  required  almost  the  providing  of  an 
army.  So  that  as  we  went  southward  the  people  were 
well  warned  to  repair  to  the  court  of  my  Lord  Bailzie  of 
Carrick,  for  the  office  of  Earl  John  Avas  the  greatest  of 
the  Lowland  hereditary  jurisdictions ;  though  the  house 
of  Cassillis  has  never  been  so  beloved  of  the  people  nor 
yet  so  careful  of  their  rights  as  that  of  the  Agnews  of 
Lochnaw,  who  from  very  ancient  times  have  been  sheriffs 
of  Galloway. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  a  right  solemn  gathering  which 
assembled  on  the  little  hill  outside  the  town  of  Girvan, 
where  such  feudal  courts  had  always  been  held.  Within 
the  enclosure,  formed  by  the  fluttering  blue  and  gold  pen- 
nons of  the  Earl,  there  was  set  a  high  seat  for  Cassillis 
himself.  In  front  of  him,  at  a  draped  table,  sat  his  ad- 
viser and  assessor,  Lawyer  Boyd  of  Penkill,  while  all 
round  the  gentlemen  of  his  house  and  name  sat  or  stood 
according  to  their  degree,  just  outside  the  line  of  pen- 
nons, within  which  none  might  come  save  the  accused 
and  they  who  gave  their  evidence. 

Then  the  trumpeter  from  the  summit  of  the  Moot  Hill 
of  Girvan  made  proclamation  with  three  blasts  of  his 
liorn  that  the  session  was  open,  and  that  all  men's  causes 
were  to  be  brought  to  the  probation. 

First  there  came  sundry  usual  complaints  of  stouthreif 


THE   MOOT   HILL   OF   GIRVAN  329 

and  oi^pression,  for  the  country  was  yet  very  unsettled. 
A  woman  cried  for  vengeance  on  Thomas  of  Drummur- 
chie,  called  the  Wolf,  for  the  carrying  off  of  her  daugh- 
ter. But  as  Drummurchie  was  already  ten  times  attaint- 
ed, it  seemed  as  though  little  would  come  of  it. 

But  Eobert  Harburgh  strode  forward  and  cried  out, 
"By  your  leave,  Earl  of  Cassillis,  the  Wolf  of  Drum- 
murchie will  carry  off  no  more  tender  lambs,  neither  mell 
with  other  men's  Avives  any  more.  The  dainty  ladies  of 
Ayr  need  no  more  draw  their  purses  to  rescue  him,  neither 
to  provide  him  with  costly  gear.  For  he  has  gone  to  a 
country  where  he  shall  be  keeped  bien  and  warm,  beik- 
ing  forever  foment  the  hottest  fires  of  Satan,  so  lately 
his  master  here  on  earth  I" 

And  with  that  he  threw  the  arms  and  accoutrement  of 
the  Wolf  on  the  green  with  prodigious  clatterment. 

"But  this,"  said  the  Earl  John,  "though  greatly  cred- 
itable to  our  squire  and  of  excellent  omen  for  the  peace 
of  Carrick  from  this  day  forth,  gives  not  this  poor  wom- 
an again  her  daughter." 

For  he  did  not  wish  to  assign  any  reward  to  Robert 
Harburgh  besides  the  lands  which  had  already  been  given 
him,  perhaps-  desiring  to  retain  so  valiant  a  sworder  near 
to  his  own  person  and  estate. 

"  I  had  been  to  the  house  of  Drummurchie  ere  I  set- 
tled accounts  with  the  Wolf  himself,"  replied  Robert 
Harburgh,  in  the  same  manner  of  exceeding  quiet,  "and 
there  have  I  set  all  things  in  order,  sending  every  man's 
daughter  to  her  father's  house,  and  every  man's  wife  back 
to  his  keeping." 

"  Retaining  none  for  yourself  !"  cried  Earl  John,  for 
daffing's  sake.     For  t-hat  was  his  idea  of  a  jest. 

"  Whatever  my  desires,  I  have  married  a  wife  that  sees 
to  that — even  as  hath  also  my  Lord  Earl  !"  quoth  Robert 
Harburgh. 

And  so  the  laugh  was  turned  against  the  Earl  Jolm. 


330  THE   GEAY   MAN 

because  till  knew  how  carefully  the  ancient  Countess  kept 
the  valleys  about  Cassillis  and  the  Inch  clear  of  buxom 
dames  and  over-complacent  maids.  For,  in  his  youth, 
Earl  John  had  the  name  of  being  both  generally  and 
most  subtly  amorous. 

Yet,  strange  to  say,  the  jest  thus  broken  at  his  expense, 
put  the  Earl  into  a  good  key,  for  it  was  only  the  outlay 
of  money  that  he  grudged.  So  he  cried  out,  "Eobert 
Harburgh,  your  tongue  can  be  as  sharp  as  your  rapier. 
You  have  rid  us  of  a  great  curse  here  in  the  south,  and 
there  is  muckle  need  in  these  parts  of  such  a  sword  and 
such  a  tongue  as  yours  to  keep  the  landward  oafs  in  ci- 
vility. You  shall  have  the  lands  of  Drummurchie,  with 
ten  men's  fighting  charges  to  hold  them  against  all  evil 
folk  till  such  time  as  the  land  be  quiet." 

And  Eobert  Harburgh  bowed  low  to  his  lord  and  re- 
tired. As  he  went  I  clajiped  him  on  the  back,  and  said, 
"  Robert,  I  Avould  that  my  long  sword  had  done  as  muckle 
for  me." 

"  Steady  on  the  hilt !  Keep  your  point  low,  your 
tongue  silent,  and  it  shall  do  more  !"  he  answered  over 
his  shoulder  as  he  went  by. 

Then  was  brought  forward  James  Mure  of  Auchen- 
drayne,  clad  only  in  the  suit  of  russet  leather  which  he 
had  worn  under  the  mail  wherein  he  had  been  taken. 
He  was  ever  a  hang-dog,  ill-favored  oaf,  and  now  looked 
sullenly  and  silently  upon  the  ground. 

His  names  and  titles  were  first  declared. 

''Who  accuses  this  man,  and  of  what?"  cried  Earl 
John  in  loud  tones. 

And  every  man  in  the  assembly  moved  a  little,  as 
though  he  itched  to  be  the  accuser  himself.  But  since 
there  was  none  that  directly  knew  of  our  adventure,  no 
one  stood  forth  save  our  Marjorie  and  Nell  till  I  myself 
stepped  forth  with  them,  with  Eobert  Harburgh  and  the 
dominie  a  little  behind  us. 


THE   MOOT   HILL   OP   GIJRVAN  331 

"Now  speak  out/'  whispered  Harburgh  of  the  Long 
Sword  to  me,  "and  let  your  nimble  wit  win  you  a 
wife." 

And  I  looked  at  Nell,  and  resolved  that  if  she  slipped 
through  my  fingers  it  should  not  be  the  fault  of  my  lack 
of  address. 

"Who  accuses  this  man  ?"  cried  the  herald,  taking  the 
word  from  his  master,  for  the  Lords  of  Carrick  and  Cas- 
sillis  were  beyond  the  paltry  fashion  of  pursuivants. 

"  I  do  !"  said  Marjorie  Kennedy,  and  all  men  set  their 
eyes  on  her.  Neither,  so  long  as  the  case  lasted,  did 
they  withdraw  their  eyes  from  her  face.  Then  she  opened 
her  mouth,  and  spoke  firmly  and  sternly  her  accusation, 

"  I,  Marjorie,  daughter  of  the  Tutor  of  Cassillis,  in  law 
wife  to  this  man,  charge  James  Mure  the  younger  of 
Auchendrayne  with  the  murder  of  my  father,  committed, 
as  all  men  know,  upon  the  sand-hills  of  Ayr.  I  also  ac- 
cuse him  of  the  murder  of  William  Dalrymple,  the  lad 
who  carried  the  message  to  Auchendrayne  concerning  my 
father's  journey." 

"  Cousin,"  said  Earl  John,  "you  have  doubtless  abun- 
dant proof  to  support  these  strange  charges  ?" 

Marjorie  Kennedy  stood  up  among  us,  tall  like  a  lily 
flower,  and  she  held  her  head  erect. 

"  Hear  you,  John  of  Cassillis,  and  all  men,"  she  said. 
"  I  will  tell  my  tale.  Of  my  own  griefs  I  will  say  naught, 
for  in  no  realm  do  a  woman's  heart-breakings  count  for 
a  docken's  value.  It  is  enough  that  my  father  in  the 
simplicity  of  his  heart  gave  me  to  this  man,  as  an  inno- 
cent sacrifice  is  cast  to  a  monster  to  appoase  his  raven- 
ing. These  many  months  I  dwelt  in  this  man's  castle. 
I  have  been  prisoned,  starved,  tortured  — yet  all  the 
Mures  in  Auchendra3'ne  could  neither  prevail  to  break 
my  resolve,  nor  yet  could  they  close  my  mouth  concern- 
ing the  things  which  I  saw. 

"  And  now  T,  that  am  no  more  bound  to  this  man  than 


332  THE   GEAY    MAN" 

I  was  when  he  took  me  out  of  my  father's  house  of  Cul- 
zean — I,  who  have  never  looked  upon  him  that  is  my 
wedded  husband  save  with  eyes  of  hatred,  never  lain  by 
his  side,  stand  here  to  denounce  James  Mure  and  his 
father  for  black,  cruel,  repeated,  defenceless  Mukdee  !" 


CHAPTER  XLIV 
THE  MUEDER   UPON   THE   BEACH 

Marjorie  Kennedy  rang  out  the  last  words  like  a 
trumpet.  Not  even  the  Earl's  herald  could  have  been 
heard  farther. 

"  All  men  hear  my  tale  before  they  judge,"  she  went 
on.  "It  was  the  morn  before  my  father's  death-day. 
From  my  Avindow  in  the  house  of  Auchendrayne  I  had 
seen  this  man  and  his  father,  with  Thomas  of  Drum- 
murchie  and  Walter  of  Cloncaird,  come  and  go  all  day 
with  trappings  and  harness,  because  they  knew  that  the 
time  was  nigh  at  hand  for  my  father's  riding  to  Edin- 
burgh. It  chanced  that  I  was  looking  down  through  the 
bars  of  my  prison-house,  for  there  was  little  else  to  do  in 
the  house  of  Auchendrayne.  It  was  about  eleven  of  the 
clock  when  I  saw  a  young  lad,  dusty  from  head  to  foot, 
venture  a  little  way  within  the  castle  yett  and  stand  as 
one  that  looks  about  him,  not  knowing  where  to  turn. 
The  court  was  void  and  silent,  and  the  lad  seemed  dis- 
tressed. But  while  he  thus  stood  James  Mure  and  his 
father  came  down  the  turnpike  stair  and  stepped,  talking 
whisperingly  together,  out  into  the  flagged  court. 

"  It  was  John  Mure  the  elder  who  first  saw  the  lad  and 
called  him.  I  saw  the  boy  put  a  letter  into  his  hand,  the 
which  he  opened  carefully  and  read,  passing  it  to  his  sou, 
who  read  also.  Then  James  Mure  stejDped  back  and 
called  Thomas  of  Drummurchie  and  Cloncaird.  They 
came  both  of  them,  and  the  four  bent  their  heads  to- 
gether over  the  writing. 


334  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

''  Then  in  ii  little  John  Mure  closed  the  letter  again  as 
it  had  been,  and  gave  it  with  certain  charges  to  the  boy." 

"  Saw  you  that  letter,  or  knew  yon  aught  of  its  con- 
tents ?"  asked  the  Earl  John. 

"  Nay,"  said  Marjorie  Kennedy ;  "  my  window  was  too 
far  from  them,  and  they  spoke  low  and  with  privity 
among  themselves." 

Then  was  my  time. 

''My  Lord  Bailzie  of  Carrick,"  said  I,  "may  it  please 
you  it  was  I,  Launcelot  Kennedy  of  Kirrieoch,  some  time 
squire  to  Sir  Thomas  of  Culzean,  who  sent  that  letter.  I 
sent  it  from  Maybole  by  the  hands  of  AVilliam  Dalrymple, 
the  lad  whom  the  Lady  Marjorie  saw  come  within  the 
castle  yett  of  Auchendrayne." 

The  dominie  stood  forward. 

"  And  it  was  I,  Eobert  Mure,  school  -  master  in  the 
town  of  Maybole,  who  wrote  that  letter.  I  wrote  it  as 
Launcelot  Kennedy  set  me  the  words,  for  he  is  a  man 
readier  with  the  sword  than  the  pen,  though  he  hath 
some  small  skill  even  of  that.  But  that  day  he  was  hot 
upon  his  game  of  golf  (which  I  hold  to  be  but  a  foolish 
sport  which  rapidly  obscures  the  senses),  so  I,  having,  as 
is  mine  office,  pen  in  hand,  wrote  the  letter  for  him. 
Also  I  sent  one  William  Dalrymple,  called  for  a  nick- 
name Willie  of  the  Gleg-foot,  with  it  to  John  Mure,  at  his 
house  of  Auchendrayne.  I  bear  witness  that  after  a 
space  this  boy  came  back  with  the  story  that  he  had 
found  John  Mure  from  home.  But  when  we  charged  it 
upon  him  that  the  letter  had  been  thumbed  and  opened 
he  grew  confused,  and  confessed  that  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  bring  back  that  message  by  Mure  himself,  who 
had  broken  the  seal  and  given  it  again  to  him,  even  as 
the  Lady  Marjorie  has  said." 

"And  what  further  proof  do  you  offer  of  all  this  ?" 
asked  the  Earl,  bending  forward  with  eagerness  to  catch 
the  dominie's  words. 


THE    MUKDER    UPON   THE    BEACH  335 

The  dominie  put  his  hand  into  the  inner  pocket  of  his 
coat  and  pulled  out,  among  various  pipe  reeds  and  scraps 
of  Avriting,  a  letter  which  he  kept  carefully  folded  in  a 
leathern  case  by  itself. 

"  There  is  the  thing  itself ;  may  it  please  your  lordship 
to  look  upon  it/'  said  he,  calmly.  And  as  soon  as  he  had 
said  that  the  Earl  rose  eagerly  to  see  the  famous  missive 
which  had  brought  about  all  this  turmoil.  There  was 
also  a  stir  among  the  folk  that  were  gathered  about,  for 
all  strained  their  eyes  as  if  they  could  see  that  which  was 
going  on  and  read  the  writing  at  that  distance. 

-'  It  is  a  most  notable  proof,"  said  the  Earl,  "and  so  we 
receive  it.  But  can  you  not  produce  the  lad  William 
Dalrymple  ?" 

"That  can  we  not,"  said  the  Lady  Marjorie  ;  "but  I, 
and  I  alone,  can  tell  you  all  the  story  of  his  death — 
blacker  even  than  the  other,  because  done  to  a  young  lad 
against  whom  even  these  cruel  murderers  could  allege  no 
quarrel." 

And  again  there  could  be  heard  the  sound  of  men  set- 
tling down  to  deeji  attention  throughout  all  the  crowd  at 
the  diet  of  Justiceaire.  And  they  even  crowded  in  a  lit- 
tle past  the  pennons,  so  that  the  heralds  had  to  beat  upon 
the  ground  with  the  butts  of  their  halberds,  as  though  to 
bruise  their  feet,  before  they  could  force  them  to  give 
back.  But  James  Mure  abode  stupid-like  and  sullen  be- 
fore his  judge,  Avhile  his  accuser  stood  not  three  feet 
from  him  and  told  her  story. 

"  It  was  just  when  the  bruit  of  my  father^s  death  began 
to  go  abroad  against  the  Auchendraynes,"  so  Marjorie 
Kennedy  again  took  up  her  tale,  "and  when  John  Mure 
the  elder  began  to  fear  that  the  matter  of  the  letter  would 
be  made  manifest,  that  I  again  saw  the  little  lad  William 
Dalrymple.  One  night  I  observed  James  Mure  leading 
him  rudely  by  the  neck  into  one  of  the  barred  cells  which 
underlie  the  stables.     And  to  that  place  with  his  own 


336  THE   GRAY  MAN 

hands  he  carried  food  and  water  once  every  day  there- 
after. 

"  Then  came  to  visit  John  Mnre  one  Sir  Robert  Mont- 
gomery, the  Laird  of  Skelmorlie.  And  with  him  they 
sent  the  lad,  on  pretext  to  be  a  page  at  his  house  of  Loch 
Ranza,  which  he  keeps  for  the  King's  hunting-lodge  on 
the  Isle  of  Arran.  What  befell  there  I  cannot  tell,  but 
it  was  not  many  weeks  before  William  Dalrymple  was  back 
again.  And  this  time  they  sent  him  (as  he  told  me  after- 
wards) to  the  Lowlands  of  Holland,  there  to  serve  in  the 
Lord  Buccleuch's  regiment,  which,  first  as  a  trumpeter 
and  after  as  a  soldier,  he  did.  Nevertheless,  being  but 
young,  he  wearied  easily  of  the  stress  and  chance  of  for- 
eign war,  and  so  returned  as  before. 

"  Then  when,  in  sjiite  of  all,  the  boy  came  back,  and 
it  was  told  to  John  Mure  that  William  Dalrymple  was 
again  in  his  native  town,  he  was  neither  to  hold  nor  to 
bind.  He  neither  rested  nor  slept  till  he  had  again 
brought  the  lad  to  his  house,  where  he  abode  for  some 
weeks,  but  not  so  closely  shut  up  as  before,  so  that  it  was 
often  my  chance  to  see  him  as  he  came  and  went  about 
the  court,  and  even  to  converse  with  him.  But  in  a  little 
while  he  vanished,  and  from  that  time  I  saw  him  no  more. 

•^'Now,  the  bitterness  of  my  life  and  my  desire  to  bring 
to  justice  the  murderers  of  my  father  caused  me  at  last 
to  quit  the  house  of  Auchendrayne.  For  now  I  held,  as 
I  thought,  the  strings  which  would  draw  mine  enemies 
to  their  doom.  So  upon  a  night  I  had  it  set  to  escape, 
she  that  was  my  maid  helping  me,  with  one  other  that  was 
a  body-servant  of  Auchendrayne's  and  my  tire-woman's 
lover. 

"When  I  came  out  I  found  a  pony  waiting  for  me,  and 
it  was  my  purpose  to  ride  to  the  house  of  my  kinsman,  the 
Earl  of  Cassillis.  But,  as  I  journeyed,  what  was  my  great 
alfrightment  to  come  upon  a  company  of  two,  who  rode 
some  little  way  before  me.     I  could  easily  have  turned 


THE    MURDER    UPOK   THE   BEACH  337 

bridle-rein  and  ridden  another  way  but  for  something 
which  came  into  my  heart  to  make  me  follow  on.  For 
in  a  trice  I  recognized  the  riders  to  be  John  Mure  and 
his  son,  the  father  being  wrapped  in  his  great  cloak  of 
gray,  as  is  his  custom.     And  by  this  I  knew  him. 

"  So  I  followed  them,  but  not  very  near.  And  because 
my  beast  was  a  stable-companion  of  their  horses,  he  went 
after  of  his  own  accord — till,  by  the  first  breaking  touch 
of  morn,  we  came  to  a  waste  place  upon  the  edge  of  the 
sea,  where  in  a  secret  dell  I  dismounted  and  tied  my 
pony  to  a  broom-bush  which  shot  out  over  a  sandy 
hollow. 

"  Then,  yet  more  secretly,  I  followed  them  across  the 
sand-hills,  and  on  the  very  edge  on  the  links,  where  the 
turf  ceases  underfoot  and  there  is  only  sand,  John  Mure 
and  his  son,  this  man  before  you,  waited.  For  a  while 
they  stood  listening  and  talking  low  together,  so  that, 
though  I  lay  hidden  behind  a  whin  which  overgrew  a  lit- 
tle turfy  dell,  I  could  neither  hear  what  was  said,  nor  yet, 
by  reason  of  the  bareness  of  the  sand,  dared  I  to  advent- 
ure nearer  them. 

"  But  they  waited  not  long  before  one  came  down  to 
meet  them  over  the  turf,  bringing  a  lad  with  him.  Then 
immediately  James  Mure  whistled  a  call,  and  the  reply 
came  back  in  like  manner. 

"'You  are  late,  James  Bannatyne,'  I  heard  John 
Mure  the  elder  say ;  '  what  has  taigled  you  ?' 

" '  My  sea  -  cloth  is  not  so  well  accustomed  to  night 
ploys  as  your  cloak  of  gray  !'  the  man  growled,  as  he 
came  along  sullenly  enough. 

"  Then  the  three  men  of  them  walked  a  little  apart, 
and  came  in  their  circuit  very  near  to  the  hollow  where  I 
lay ;  while  down  on  the  shore  the  young  lad  stood  and 
yawned,  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  like  one  that 
shivers  and  wishes  he  were  back  in  bed.  Nor  had  he,  I 
am  confident,  even  then  any  thought  of  evil. 

22 


338  THE   GRAY    MAN 

''But  the  talk  of  the  three,  as  I  heard  it  m  snatches, 
was  black  and  bitter. 

''  The  darkest  counsel  was  that  of  the  man  who  stands 
here,  for  James  Mure  said  only,  '  The  dead  are  no  tale- 
pyets.'  And  again,  'We  have  had  enough  of  this  silly, 
endless,  hiding-and-seeking  work.  Let  the  earth  hide 
him,  or  the  sea  keep  him — and  be  done  with  it !' 

"Now  John  Mure  the  elder,  and  the  man  whom  they 
called  James  Bannatyne,  seemed  at  the  least  inclined  to 
discuss  milder  counsels,  Bannatyne  was  all  for  sending 
the  lad  over  to  Ireland.  And  John  Mure  listened  as 
though  he  might  be  persuaded.  Yet  I  knew  his  guile, 
for  even  when  he  stood  with  his  back  to  his  son,  I  saw 
him  lift  up  his  hand  for  a  signal.  And  with  that  and  no 
more,  James  Mure  rushed  at  the  poor  lad  and  overbore 
him  to  the  ground.  And  there  upon  the  sands  of  the 
seashore,  this  James  Mure  set  his  knee  on  the  bairnie's 
breast,  and  with  bloody  hands  choked  and  worried  him 
till  there  was  no  life  left  in  the  lad.  And  his  father  also 
went  and  held  the  lad  when  he  fought,  his  white,  rever- 
end beard  waggling  in  the  wind,  till  at  last  the  bairn  lay 
still.  But  James  Bannatyne  stood  by  and  clasped  his 
hands  as  the  boy  tossed  and  struggled  for  his  dear  young 
life,  for  I  think  he  was  now  mainly  sorry  that  he  had 
brought  the  lad  to  his  death. 

"Then  I  could  stand  the  vileness  no  longer  without 
protest.  So  I,  Marjorie  Kennedy,  even  though  I  well 
knew  that  they  would  certainly  do  the  like  to  me,  rose 
from  my  hiding-place  in  the  sand -hollow,  and  cried, 
'Murderers,  cease  from  your  cruel  work!  God  will 
come  and  judge  you  !' 

"Whereat  John  Mure  came  hastily  to  where  I  stood 
and  gripped  me.  '  You  have  seen  all,'  he  said  ;  '  then 
you  must  die.  Let  us  see  if  God  will  come  and  help 
you  !' 

"So  I  defied  them  to  do  their  worst  with  me,  for  mad- 


4.  ^ 


\>" 


2! 


w 

tsl 


1^ 

> 

SI 


ii 


THE   MURDER   UPOK  THE   BEACH  339 

ness  liad  come  upon  me  at  the  sight  of  the  monstrous 
cruelty  to  an  innocent  bairn.  And  for  the  time  I  cared 
not  what  shouki  become  of  myself. 

''Then  I  called  to  James  Bannatyne,  requiring  of  him 
to  declare  if  he,  too,  were  a  murderer  like  the  other 
fiends,  and  to  call  upon  him  to  protect  the  innocent. 

"'^Ye  will  settle  all  that  in  the  one  payment,  mis- 
tress,' said  John  Mure  to  me. 

"So  by  force  I  was  compelled  to  abide  wnth  them, 
John  Mure  the  elder  taking  me  cruelly  by  the  arm,  while 
he  sent  the  others  to  cast  into  the  sea  the  dead  body  of 
the  lad.  But  even  so  oft  as  they  threw  him  in,  so  often 
the  waves  cast  him  out  again  upon  the  shore ;  and  that 
though  there  was  a  strong  wind  off  the  land,  which  blew 
the  tops  from  the  waves  and  drave  the  sand  in  hissing 
streams  into  the  sea. 

"  So  when  for  the  third  time  the  boy  had  been  tumbled 
upon  the  beach,  John  Mure  bade  Bannatyne  bring  his 
boat,  saying  that  they  would  cast  the  loon  afloat  out  in 
the  deeps  of  the  bay,  so  that  the  outerly  wind  might 
drive  him  to  the  coast  of  Ireland.  After  that  they  would 
return  betimes  to  attend  to  other  matters — by  which  I 
took  him  to  mean  that  they  would  do  that  for  me  which 
I  had  so  lately  seen  them  do  for  the  young  boy.  And, 
indeed,  I  looked  for  no  other  mercy  at  their  brutal  hands. 
So  in  a  little  space  James  Bannatyne  brought  his  boat, 
and  with  hard  endeavor  they  launched  her,  and  com- 
pelled me  to  accompany  them.  There  was  a  strong  wind 
from  the  east,  and  we  were  soon  blown  far  out  into  the 
wild  sea.  There  they  cast  the  body  of  the  lad  overboard, 
and  turned  to  make  again  for  the  shore.  But  though 
they  all  took  oars  and  labored  in  rowing,  James  Ban- 
natyne taking  twain,  they  could  make  nothing  of  it, 
but  were  rather  worse  than  they  had  been  before  they 
started. 

"So   they  began   to  be   afraid,  and  I  was  right  glad 


340  THE   GEAY   MAH 

thereat,  for  I  looked  that  the  doom  of  the  twice  guilty 
murderers  should  speedily  come.  And  so  the  pain  of  this 
trial  and  my  witnessing  might  have  been  spared. 

"Now  the  Mures  were  the  most  fearful  of  the  quick- 
risen  storm,  being  as  it  were  inland  bred.  It  was  all  that 
James  Bannytyne  could  get  them  to  do  to  sit  still. 

"  '^Ye  will  wreck  us  all  and  send  us  red-hand  before 
our  Maker,  with  the  lad's  body  not  cold  in  the  water, 
and  his  spirit  there  to  meet  us  at  the  Judgment  seat  !' 
said  he. 

"And  with  that  John  Mure  rose  in  his  place,  and  in 
despite  of  the  swaying  and  plunging  of  the  boat,  into 
which  the  water  came  lashing,  he  cried  out, '  The  Wraith! 
the  Wraith  !     It  is  following  us — we  are  doomed  !' 

"And  lo  !  when  I  looked  I  saw  that  which  chilled  me 
more  than  the  whistling  tempest.  And  if  it  feared  me  to 
the  soul,  judge  me  what  it  must  have  been  to  the  guilty 
men  whose  hands  were  yet  red  with  the  blood  of  the  in- 
nocent. 

"For  there,  not  thirty  yards  behind  the  boat,  and  fol- 
lowing strongly  in  our  wake,  as  a  stark  swimmer  might 
do,  now  tumbling  and  leaping  in  the  wash  of  the  seas  and 
now  lunging  forward  like  a  boat  that  is  towed,  was  the 
murdered  boy  himself.  And  thus  he  followed  with  a 
smile  on  his  face,  or  what  looked  like  it  in  the  uncertain 
light  of  the  morning. 

"  So  with  that  the  men  who  rowed  fell  on  their  faces 
and  could  not  look  any  more,  though  the  prodigy  fol- 
lowed us  a  good  while.  Only  John  Mure  sat  wrapped  in 
his  gray  cloak  steering  the  boat,  and  I  sat  beside  him. 
Little  Ijy  little  we  came  to  the  land,  but  as  it  had  been 
sideways,  having  been  driven  by  the  wind  to  the  other 
side  of  the  wide  bay. 

"  There  we  disembarked,  and  the  Mures  kept  me  close 
all  that  day  in  a  place  of  strength  on  the  seashore  till  it 
was  night.     They  plied  me  to  promise  silence,  for  they 


THE    MURDER    UPOJST   THE    BEACH  341 

believed  that  I  would  keep  my  word  if  once  I  pledged  it. 
They  offered  me  all  that  they  had  of  honor  or  place  in 
the  country.  There  was  nothing,  they  said,  that  was  not 
within  the  power  of  their  compassing.  For  since  the 
death  of  Gilbert  of  Bargany  the  King  needed  some  one 
in  Carrick  strong  enough  to  count  spears  with  the  Earl 
of  Cassillis. 

''But  very  steadfastly  I  withstood  them,  declaring  that 
I  should  certainly  reveal  all  their  murder  and  treachery, 
both  in  the  matter  of  the  death  of  my  father  and  in  that 
which  I  had  seen  done  upon  the  sands  to  the  young  lad 
William  Dalrymple. 

"So,  finally  seeing  that  they  could  prevail  nothing, 
they  went  out  and  kept  silent  watch  by  the  door  till  the 
even.  Then  as  soon  as  it  was  dark  they  opened  the  lock 
and  bade  me  come  forth.  And  this  I  did,  knowing  for  a 
certainty  that  my  last  hour  was  come.  Yet  my  life  had  not 
been  so  pleasant  to  me  as  to  be  very  greatly  precious.  So  I 
followed  them  with  no  very  ill  will,  nor  yet  greatly  con- 
cerned. Then,  on  the  craggy  top,  they  gave  me,  for  the 
sake  of  their  house  and  good  name  (as  they  said)  one 
more  chance  to  swear  silence.  This  I  would  not  accept, 
and  they,  being  startled  with  the  approach  of  a  boat  upon 
the  water  which  steered  towards  our  light,  pinioned  my 
arms,  and,  thrusting  something  into  my  mouth,  forthwith 
threw  me  over  the  cliff  into  the  sea.  And  as  to  the  mode 
of  my  rescuing  and  standing  here  before  the  Earl,  my 
cousin,  young  Launcelot  Kennedy,  my  father's  squire, 
can  tell.  And  also  my  sister  and  Robert  Muir  of  May- 
bole." 


CHAPTER  XLV 

THE   MAN"   IN  THE   WIDE   BREECHES 

She  ceased  suddenly  after  this  long  account  of  her  ad- 
venturing, and  the  folk  stood  still  in  amazement,  having 
held  their  breath  while  she  told  of  the  killing  of  young 
William  Dalrymple  and  of  the  Wraith.  And  then  there 
arose  a  great  cry  from  all  the  people  : 

''Tear  the  murderer  in  pieces — kill  him,  kill  him!" 
So  that  Cassillis  had  to  summon  men-at-arms  to  keep 
back  that  throng  of  furious  folk,  for  the  death  of  my 
master  seemed  to  them  but  a  little  thing  and  venial  com- 
pared to  the  killing  of  a  lad  like  William  Dalrymple. 
And  this  was  because  the  people  of  Carrick  had  been 
used  all  their  days  to  family  feuds  and  the  expiation  of 
blood  by  blood. 

The  Earl  was  about  to  call  me  up  to  give  an  account  of 
my  part  in  the  affair,  and  I  was  preparing  myself  to  make 
a  good  and  creditable  apj)earance — a  thing  which  I  have 
all  my  life  studied  to  do — when  there  was  heard  a  mighty 
crying  in  the  rear  of  the  Bailzie  Court.  Men  cried  "  He 
comes  !  He  comes  !"  as  though  it  had  been  some  great 
one.  And  everybody  turned  their  heads,  to  the  no  small 
annoyance  of  Earl  John,  who,  when  on  his  Hill  of  Jus- 
tice, loved  not  that  men  should  look  in  any  other  direc- 
tion than  his  own. 

The  ranks  of  the  men-at-arms  opened,  and  there  strode 
into  the  square  of  trial,  which  was  guarded  by  the  pen- 
nons of  blue  and  gold  at  the  four  corners — who  but  John 
Mure  of  Auchendrayne  himself,  wearing  the  same  cloak 


THE    MAN    IN   THE   WIDE    BREECHES  343 

of  gray  and  broad  plumed  hat  which  had  been  his  wont 
when  he  went  abroad  npon  dangcrons  quests  !  With  him 
was  another  shorter  man,  whose  fac^  was  for  the  time 
being  almost  hidden,  for  he  had  pulled  the  cloak  he  was 
wearing  close  about  his  mouth.  He  walked  with  an  odd 
jolt  or  roll  in  his  gait,  and  his  breeches  were  exceedingly- 
broad  in  the  basement. 

It  was  small  wonder  that  we  stood  aghast  at  this  sud- 
den compearing  of  the  arch  criminal  whose  misdeeds 
throughout  all  the  countryside  had  filled  the  cup  of  his 
wickedness  to  the  brim. 

"  Seize  him  !"  cried  the  Earl,  pointing  directly  at  John 
Mure. 

And  his  Bailzie's  men  took  him  roughly  by  the  shoul- 
ders and  set  him  beside  his  son.  Then  it  was  to  be  no- 
ticed, as  the  two  stood  together,  that  there  was  a  great 
likeness  between  father  and  son.  The  elder  man  pos- 
sessed the  same  features  without  any  evident  differences 
in  outline.  But  so  informed  was  his  face  with  intelli- 
gence and  power  that  what  was  simply  dull  cruelty  and 
loutishness  in  the  one  became  the  guile  of  statecraft  in 
the  other. 

"  Wherefore,  my  Lord  Earl,"  cried  John  Mure  of  Au- 
chendrayne,  "is  this  violence  done  to  me  and  to  the  heir 
of  my  house  ?  I  demand  to  know  concerning  what  we 
are  called  in  question  and  by  whom  ?" 

Then  the  Earl  of  Cassillis  answered  him  : 

"John  Mure  of  Auchendrayne,  know  then  that  you 
are  charged,  along  with  this  your  son,  with  the  bloody 
murder  of  Sir  Thomas  Kennedy  of  Culzean,  Tutor  of  Cas- 
sillis ;  and  also  with  the  cruel  death  of  William  Dalrym- 
ple,  the  young  lad  who  brought  you  the  message  to  your 
own  house  of  Auchendrayne,  telling  at  what  hour  the  . 
Tutor  should  pass  the  trysting  place,  where  he  was  by 
you  and  yours  foully  assaulted  and  slain." 

"And  who  declares  these  things?"  cried  Mure, boldly. 


344  THE   GEAY   MAN 

with  a  bearing  more  like  that  of  an  innocent  man  than 
that  of  any  criminal  that  ever  I  saw. 

The  Earl  bade  ns  who  had  accused  them  so  jnstly  to 
stand  forth.  Then  John  Mure  eyed  us  with  a  grave  and 
amused  contempt. 

"My  son's  false  wife,  whom  sorrow  has  caused  to  dote 
concerning  her  father's  death  —  her  night-raking  ranti- 
pole  sister,  and  her  paramour,  a  loutish,  land-louping 
squire — the  dominie  of  Maybole,  a  crippledick  and  piping 
merry-andrew  that  travelled  with  them — these  are  the 
accusers  of  John  Mure  of  Auchendrayne.  They  have 
seen,  heard,  noted  what  others  have  been  ignorant  of  ! 
Nay,  rather,  is  it  not  clear  that  they  have  collogued  to- 
gether, conspiring  to  bear  false  witness  against  me  and 
mine — for  the  sake  of  the  frantic  splenetic  madness  of 
her  who  is  my  son's  fugitive  wife,  whose  wrongs  exist 
only  in  her  own  imaginings." 

"You  have  forgotten  me  !"  said  Eobert  Harburgh, 
quietly,  stepping  forward. 

"I  know  you  well,"  said  John  Mure^  "and  I  would 
have  remembered  you  had  you  been  worth  remembering. 
You  are  my  Lord  of  Cassillis's  squire,  and  erstwhile  a  gay 
cock-sparrow  ruffler,  now  married  to  the  Grieve's  daugh- 
ter at  Culzean." 

"Well,"  said  Harburgh,  "and  what  of  that  ?  Can  a 
man  not  be  all  that  and  yet  tell  the  truth  ?" 

"  That  I  leave  to  one  who  is  greater  to  Judge,"  said 
John  Mure. 

"  And  I  do  judge,  John  Mure,"  cried  the  Earl,  rising  in 
his  chair  of  state.  "I  judge  you  to  be  a  man-rebel  and  man- 
sworn,  a  traitor  and  a  man-slayer.  Eor  a  score  of  years  ye 
have  keeped  all  this  realm  of  Carrick  in  a  turmoil,  you 
and  they  that  have  partaken  with  you  in  your  evil  deeds." 

"  Loud,  swelling  words  are  but  wind,  my  Lord  Earl  of 
Cassillis,"  answered  Mure  of  Auchendrayne,  a  dry  smile 
of  contempt  coming  over  his  features. 


THE   MAN    IN   THE    WIDE    BREECHES  345 

"Now  I  will  show  thee,  bold  ill-doer/'  said  the  Earl, 
fiercely,  "whether  I  speak  the  words  of  a  dotard  or  no. 
Forward,  men,  take  him  up  and  bind  him.  Methinks 
we  have  yet  engines  witliin  the  castle  of  Dunure  that  can 
make  him  declare  the  rights  of  this  murderous  treason  I" 

Then  I  rejoiced,  not  for  the  torture  of  our  enemy,  but 
because  at  last  the  Earl  saw  fully  with  our  eyes,  and 
would  right  us  against  the  cruel  oppressor  of  Marjorie 
Kennedy  and  for  the  murder  of  my  gentle  and  courteous 
master. 

But  ere  the  men  could  carry  out  the  orders  of  the  Earl 
the  broad-breeched  man  who  had  accompanied  Auchen- 
drayne,  and  who  had  all  the  while  stood  still  and  watch- 
ful, dropped  his  plaid,  which,  like  a  mask,  he  had  held 
beneath  his  eyes.  He  was  a  middle  -  sized,  fleshy  man, 
with  no  great  dignity  of  face,  and  with  a  weak  mouth 
that  dribbled  perpetually  at  the  side  as  if  the  tongue 
were  too  large  for  it.  He  wore  a  slashed  doublet  very 
full  at  the  sleeves,  baggy  trunks,  and  a  sword  in  a  plain 
scabbard  hanging  at  his  side.  I  saw  nothing  further 
very  particular  about  the  man  save  the  shambling,  inward 
bend  of  his  knees. 

But  it  was  with  dumb  amaze  that  the  Earl  looked  at 
him,  standing  there  arrested  in  the  act  of  pointing  with 
his  hand  at  John  Mure.  He  stood  with  his  jaw  fallen 
and  his  eyes  starting  from  his  head. 

"  The  King  I  the  King  !"  he  muttered  in  astonish- 
ment, looking  about  him  like  one  distracted. 

"  Aye,  Baron  Bailzie  of  Carrick,  even  your  King,"  said 
the  man  in  the  wide  trunk  hosen,  "  come  to  see  how  his 
sometime  High  Treasurer  of  Scotland  executes  just  judg- 
ment in  his  own  regality  !" 

The  Earl  came  quickly  to  himself,  and  he  and  all  the 
people  took  ofl:  their  hats.  He  stepped  down  and  made 
his  obeisance  to  the  King,  bending  humbly  upon  his 
knee.    Then  he  ushered  the  King  to  the  throne  whereon 


346  THE   GRAY   MAN 

he  himself  had  been  sitting,  and  took  a  lower  seat  beside 
Adam  Boyd  of  Penkill,  his  assessor-in-ordinary. 

The  King  rose  to  speak. 

•^'My  Lord  Earl  and  gentlemen  of  Carrick,"  he  said, 
Avith  dignity  enongh,  bnt  with  a  thick  and  rolling  ac- 
cent as  if  his  tongue  had  been  indeed  too  big,  "  I  know 
this  case  to  the  bottom.  I  am  fully  persuaded  of  the 
innocence  of  our  trusty  councillor,  John  Mure  of  Au- 
chendrayne — who  is  besides  of  the  fraternity  of  learned 
men,  and  one  that  hath  a  history  of  this  realm  in  script 
ready  for  the  printers,  wherein  he  does  full  justice  both 
to  myself  and  to  my  noble  predecessors.  He  hath,  as  I 
should  nominate  it,  an  exactness  of  expression  and  a 
perspicuity  of  argument  that  have  never  been  matched 
in  the  land.  I  propose  shortly  to  make  him  my  histori- 
ographer royal.  Also  I,  the  King,  do  know  him  to  be  a 
man  well  affected  to  the  right  ecclesiastical  ruling  of  this 
kingdom,  and  mindful  to  help  me  with  the  due  ordering 

of  it." 

The  King  puffed  and  blew  after  his  speech,  and  we 
and  all  that  were  there  stood  silent,  for  to  most  of  us  he 
might  as  well  have  spoken  in  the  Hebrew  of  which  he 
boasted  himself  so  great  a  master.     Then  he  went  on : 

"I  have  left  my  Lord  Mar  and  my  retinue  some  way 
in  the  rear.  For  we  go  to  hunt  the  deer  in  whatever 
forest  the  good-will  of  our  loyal  subjects  may  put  at  our 
disposal. 

"You  are  right  welcome,  my  liege,"  said  the  Earl  John, 
starting  up  and  standing  bareheaded,  "  to  my  hunting 
lodges  and  retinue,  both  in  the  Forest  of  Buchan  and  also 
at  my  house  of  Cassillis." 

The  King  bent  towards  him  royally,  for  James  the  Sixth 
had  manners  when  he  liked  to  show  them  —  which,  in 
truth,  was  not  always. 

"  I  thank  you,  trusty  councillor,"  said  he  ;  "  it  is  nobly 
and  generously  done — qualities  which  also  marked  your 


THE    MAN    IN    THE    WIDE    BREECHES  347 

all-too-brief  tenure  of  the  office  of  High  Treasurer  of 
Scothind.  But  for  the  judging  of  this  our  worthy  sub- 
ject, I  propose  to  take  that  upon  myself,  being  wholly 
persuaded  of  his  innocence.  And  as  for  those  that  have 
falsely  accused  him,  let  the  men  underlie  my  will  in  the 
prison  most  convenient,  and  the  Avomen  be  warded  mean- 
time in  their  own  house  and  castle,  till  I  cause  to  be  known 
my  whole  pleasure  in  the  matter." 

We  stood  aghast,  and  knew  not  what  to  say,  so  com- 
pletely had  Auchendrayne  turned  our  flank  with  the 
King.  Not  a  Avord  had  Ave  found  to  allege  when  the 
officers  of  the  court,  to  Avhom  the  charge  Avas  given,  came 
to  put  the  iron  rings  on  our  Avrists  and  march  us  off,  even 
as  we  had  hoped  and  expected  to  see  Auchendrayne  and 
his  son  taken. 

And  as  the  dominie  and  I  were  haled  away  we  could  see 
Auchendrayne  bending  suavely  over  the  King's  high  seat, 
and  His  Majesty  inclining  to  him  and  talking  privately 
back  and  forth,  with  many  becks  and  uncouth  graces  such 
as  he  had  used  in  his  address  to  the  Earl  and  his  people. 

"  He  is  the  very  devil  himself,"  said  the  dominie,  mean- 
ing Auchendrayne  and  not  the  King ;  "  he  hath  not  halted 
to  cozen  the  greatest  man  in  this  realm  with  his  lying 
tongue  !" 

But  I  said  nothing,  for  Avhat  had  I  to  say  ?  I  had  seen 
lands,  honors,  love,  and  consideration  vanish  at  a  stroke. 


CHAPTER    XLVI 

THE   JUDGMEIS'T   OF    GOD 

The  court  of  the  Baron  Bailzie  of  Carrick  broke  up  in 
confusion.  It  had  been  arranged  that  we  should  ride  all 
together  to  the  north,  even  to  Culzean,  where  His  Majesty 
might  have  due  entertainment  provided  for  him  nearer 
than  at  my  lord's  castle  of  Cassillis.  Also  it  was  upon 
this  shoreside  road  that  he  had  left  the  Earl  of  Mar  and 
the  favorite  attendants  with  whom  James  the  Sixth  ordi- 
narily sallied  forth  to  the  hunting. 

Those  of  the  Auchendrayne  and  Bargany  party  who 
hated  us  clamored  that  the  dominie  and  I  should  be  left 
warded  in  the  lock-fast  place  of  Girvan,  where  our  ene- 
mies would  soon  have  ta'en  their  will  of  us.  But  Robert 
Harburgh  moved  my  lord,  who  went  about  dour  and  heart- 
sick for  the  failure  of  his  plans  in  the  matter  of  the  Mures, 
to  have  us  brought  on,  with  purpose  to  lodge  us  within 
the  ancient  strengths  of  Dunure. 

So  that  as  I  rode  hand-tied  at  the  tail  of  the  King's 
retinue  I  was  yet  near  enough  to  have  sight  of  Marjorie 
and  Nell,  who  rode  before  us.  And  this  was  some  com- 
fort to  my  heart. 

The  way  lay  for  miles  along  the  seashore,  which  is  here 
sandy,  with  a  broad  belt  of  fine  hard  beach  whereon  the 
horses  went  daintily  and  well,  while  at  our  left  elbows 
the  sea  murmured. 

The  King  and  John  Mure  rode  first,  and  His  Majesty 
constantly  broke  into  loud  mirth  at  some  witty  saying 
of  his  companion's.     Level  with  them,  but  riding  moodily 


THE   JUDGMENT   OF    GOD  349 

apart,  was  the  Earl,  while  James  Mure  the  younger  rode 
alone  by  himself  behind  these  three. 

I  groaned  within  me  for  the  exaltation  of  our  enemy 
and  at  the  short-sightedness  of  anointed  kings. 

"  Is  there  a  God  in  heaven,"  I  cried  aloud,  "  thus  to 
make  no  sign,  while  the  devil  is  driving  all  things  head- 
long to  destruction  according  to  his  own  devising  ?" 

There  was  a  God  in  heaven. 

For,  quick  as  an  echo  that  answers  from  the  wood, 
there  before  us  upon  the  sands,  just  where  the  levels  had 
been  overflowed  at  the  last  tide,  lay  a  thing  which  halted 
the  advancing  cavalcade  as  suddenly  as  an  army  with  ban- 
ners. The  men  crowded  about,  and,  having  in  the  excite- 
ment forgotten  us  their  charges,  we  also  were  permitted 
to  look.     And  this  is  what  we  saw. 

There  upon  the  ribbed  sea  sand  lay  the  dead  body  of 
the  boy  William  Dalrymple.  I  knew  him  at  a  glance,  for 
all  that  so  much  had  come  and  gone  since  that  day  when 
I  played  at  the  golf  game  upon  the  green  of  Maybole.  He 
lay  with  his  arms  stretched  away  from  his  sides,  his  face 
turned  over,  and  one  cheek  dented  deeply  into  the  sand. 
It  was  a  pitiful  sight.  Yet  the  lad  was  not  greatly  altered 
— wind-tossed  and  wave-borne  as  he  had  been,  and  now 
brought  to  cross  the  path  of  the  unjust  at  the  very  nick 
of  time,  by  the  manifest  judgment  and  providence  of  God. 

"What  means  this?"  said  the  King.  "Some  poor 
drowned  sailor  boy.  Let  us  avoid  !"  For  of  all  things 
he  loved  not  grewsome  sights  nor  the  color  of  blood.  But 
James  Mure  suddenly  cried  aloud  at  the  vision,  as  if  he 
had  been  stricken  with  pain.  And  as  he  did  so  his  father 
looked  at  him  as  though  he  would  have  slain  him,  so 
devilish  was  his  glance  of  hate  and  contempt. 

But  a  woman  who  had  come  running  hot-foot  after  the 
party  now  rushed  to  the  front.  She  gave  a  loud  scream, 
ear-piercing  and  frantic,  when  she  saw  the  tossed  little 
body  lying  all  abroad  upon  the  sand. 


350  THE    GRAY    MAN" 

"  My  Willie,  my  ain  son  Willie  !"  she  cried.  For  it  was 
Meg  Dalrynijjle.  All  her  ignorant  rudeness  seemed  to 
fade  away  in  the  presence  of  death,  and  as  she  lifted  the 
poor  mishandled  head  that  had  heen  her  son's,  each  of  us 
felt  that  she  grew  akin  to  our  own  mothers,  widowed  and 
bereaved.  For  I  think  that  which  touches  us  most  in  the 
grief  of  a  widow  is  not  our  feeling  for  a  particular  woman, 
but  our  obligation  to  the  mother  of  all  flesh. 

So  when  Meg  Dalrymple  lifted  her  son's  head,  it  might 
have  been  a  mourning  queen  with  a  dead  kingling  upon 
her  knee. 

"  My  ain,  my  ain  lad  !"  she  cried.  "  See,  lammie,  but 
I  loved  ye.  Ye  were  the  widow's  ae  son.  Fleeter-footed 
than  the  mountain  roe,  mair  gleg  than  the  falcon  that  sits 
yonder  on  the  King's  wrist,  ye  were  the  hoi3e  o'  thy  mith- 
er's  life.  And  they  hae  slain  ye,  killed  my  bonny  wean, 
that  never  did  harm  to  nae  man — " 

She  undid  a  kerchief  from  about  the  white,  swollen  neck 
of  her  son. 

"^Kens  ony  man  that  image  and  superscription  ?"  said 
she,  pointing  to  an  embroidered  crest  upon  it.  John  Mure 
strode  forward  hastily.     He  had  grown  as  pale  as  death. 

"  Give  it  me.  I  will  pass  it  to  His  Majesty,"  he  said, 
holding  out  his  hand  for  it. 

But  the  woman  leaped  up  fiercely. 

"  Na,"  she  said  ;  "  the  butcher  kens  his  knife  ;  but  he 
would  only  hide  it  in  the  day  of  trial.  I  will  give  it  to  my 
ain  well-kenned  lord." 

And  she  put  the  napkin  into  the  hands  of  the  Earl  of 
Cassillis,  who  looked  at  it  with  the  most  minute  attention. 

"This  kerchief,"  said  the  Earl,  gravely,  "hixs  the  crest 
and  motto  of  John  Mure  of  Auchendrayne." 

The  King  looked  staggered  and  bewildered. 

"  Let  all  dismount  till  we  try  further  of  this  thing," 
he  said. 

But  John  Mure  would  have  had  him  go  on,  saying  that 


THE  JUDGMENT   OF   GOD  351 

it  was  yet  more  of  the  plot.  But  the  King  would  not  now 
hearken  to  him  ;  for  he  was  an  obstinate  man,  and  often- 
time  he  would  listen  to  no  reason^,  though  his  ear  was  ever 
open  enough  to  flattery.  Besides,  he  thought  himself  to 
be  the  Avisest  man  in  all  the  islands  and  kino^doms  of  the 
world — wiser  even  than  Solomon  the  son  of  David. 

So  His  Majesty  commanded  his  inclination,  and  went 
up  to  the  body.  There  was  also  a  rope  around  the  neck 
with  a  long  end,  which  was  embedded  in  the  sand.  With 
his  own  hand  the  King  drew  this  out. 

He  held  it  up. 

"  Kens  any  man  this  length  of  rope  ?"  he  asked,  look- 
ing about. 

Now  one  strand  of  sea-cordage  is  like  another  as  two 
peas  ;  but  this  was  our  Solomon's  way  of  judging — to  find 
out  the  insignificant,  and  then  pretend  that  it  told  him  a 
mighty  deal. 

Yet  it  so  happened  that  there  was  a  man  there  from  out 
of  the  shoreside  of  Girvan.  He  was  a  coastwise  sailor, 
and  he  took  the  rope  in  his  hand. 

"This  rope,"  he  said,  turning  it  about  every  way,  ''is 
Irish  made,  and  has  been  used  to  tie  bundles  of  neat 
hides." 

"And  who,"  again  asked  the  King,  shrewdly,  as  I  do 
admit — "who  upon  this  coast  trades  with  Ireland  in  the 
commodity  of  neat  hides  ?" 

"There  are  but  myself  and  James  Bannatyne  of  Chap- 
eldonnan,"  replied  the  man,  honestly  and  promptly. 

"And  this  is  not  your  rope  ?"  said  the  King. 

"  Nay,"  said  the  man,  "I  would  not  buy  a  pennyworth 
of  Irish  hemp  so  long  as  I  could  twine  the  hemp  of  Scot- 
land— no,  not  even  to  hang  an  Irishman  would  I  do  it. 
This  is  James  Bannatyne's  rope  !" 

Then  said  the  King,  "  Bring  hither  James  of  Chapel- 
donnan  !" 

And  they  brought  him.     He  stood  forth,  much  feared. 


352  THE   GRAY   MAN 

indeed,  but  taking  the  matter  dourly,  like  the  burly  ruffian 
he  was.  Nevertheless,  when  put  to  the  question  he  denied 
the  rope,  and  that  in  spite  of  all  threats  of  torture.  Yet 
I  could  see  that  the  King  was  greatly  shaken  in  his  opin- 
ion, and  knew  not  what  to  think.  For  when  John  Mure 
drew  near  to  touch  his  arm  and  as  before  say  somewhat 
in  his  private  ear,  the  King  drew  hastily  away  and  looked 
at  Auchendrayne's  hand  as  though  there  had  been  pollu- 
tion upon  it.  So  I  knew  that  his  opinion  was  wavering. 
Also  the  poor  body  in  the  mother's  arms  daunted  him. 

Suddenly  he  cla^Dped  his  hands  together  and  became 
exceedingly  joyous  and  alert. 

"I  have  it !"  he  cried ;  "  the  ordeal  of  touch.  It  is  God's 
ordinary  and  manifest  way  of  vindicating  His  justice. 
Here  is  the  dead  body  of  the  slain.  Here  are  all  the  ac- 
cused aud  the  accusers.  Let  it  be  equally  done.  Let  all 
touch  the  body,  for  the  revealing  of  the  secrets  of  the 
hearts  of  wicked  men." 

Then  John  Mure  laughed  and  scoffed,  saying  that  it 
was  but  a  freit,  a  foolish  opinion,  an  old  wives'  fable. 

But  for  all  his  quirksome  guile  he  had  gotten  this  time 
very  mightily  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  King.  For  His 
Majesty  was  just  mad  with  belief  in  such  things  as  omens 
and  miracles  of  God's  providence.  So  the  King  shook  him 
off  and  said,  "It  is  my  royal  will  that  all  who  are  tainted 
with  the  matter  shall  immediately  touch  or  be  held 
guilty." 

And  the  saying  comforted  King  James,  being,  as  it  were, 
easily  pleased  with  his  own  words  and  plaiks. 

So  they  brought  us  forward  from  among  the  crowd 
bound  as  we  were,  and  first  of  all  I  touched  fearlessly  the 
poor  dead  body  of  the  lad.  Yet  it  was  with  some  strange 
feeling,  though  I  knew  well  that  I  was  wholly  innocent. 
But  yet  I  could  not  forget  that  something  untoward  might 
happen,  and  then  good-bye  to  tliis  fair  world  and  all  the 
pleasant  stir  of  life  within  it. 


THE   JUDGMENT    OF    GOD  353 

Then  after  me  the  dominie  touched — even  Marjorieand 
Nell  doing  it  with  set  faces  and  strange  eyes. 

It  was  now  the  turns  of  the  real  murderers,  and  my 
heart  beat  little  and  fast  to  see  what  should  happen. 

"  Let  Auchendrayne  the  younger  touch  first,  being  the 
more  directly  accused  !"  cried  the  King. 

But  James  Mure  seemed  to  flame  out  suddenly  distract, 
like  a  madman  being  taken  to  Bethlem.  He  cried  out, 
"  No,  no,  I  will  not  touch.  I  declare  that  I  will  not  go 
near  him  !" 

And  when  John  Mure  strove  to  persuade  him  to  it,  he 
struck  at  him  fiercely  with  his  open  hand,  leaving  the 
stead  of  his  fingers  dead  white  upon  his  father's  cheek. 
And  when  they  took  his  arm  and  would  have  forced  him 
to  it,  he  threw  himself  down  headlong  in  the  sand,  foam- 
ing and  crying,  ''  I  will  not  touch  for  blood  !  I  will  not 
touch  for  blood  !" 

But  in  spite  of  his  struggling  they  carried  him  to  where 
the  body  lay.  And,  all  men  standing  back,  they  thrust 
his  bare  hand  sharply  upon  the  neck  where  the  rope  had 
been. 

And,  it  is  true  as  Scripture,  I  that  write  declare 
(though  I  cannot  explain)  it,  out  from  the  open  mouth 
of  the  lad  there  sprang  a  gout  of  black  and  oozy  blood. 

Whereat  a  great  cry  went  up,  and  James  Mure  fell  for- 
ward on  the  sand  as  one  suddenly  stricken  dead.  All 
crowded  forward  to  see,  crying  with  one  voice,  "  The 
Judgment  of  Grod  !     The  Judgment  of  God  !" 

And  I  shouted  too,  for  I  had  seen  the  vindication  of 
justice  upon  the  murderer.  The  blood  of  Abel  had  cried 
out  of  the  waste  sea  sand.  The  mark  of  God  was  on  the 
guilty. 

Then  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  the  push  I  heard  a 
stirring  and  a  shouting. 

"  Stop  him  !  stop  him  !"  they  cried. 

I  looked  about,  and  lo  !  there,  sitting  erect  upon  his 

23 


354  THE   GEAY  MAN" 

horse  and  riding  like  fire  among  heather,  was  John  Mure. 
He  had  stolen  away  while  all  eyes  were  on  the  marvel. 
He  had  passed  unregarded  through  the  j)ress,  and  now 
he  rode  for  his  life  southward  along  the  shore. 

I  gave  one  mighty  twist  to  the  manacles  on  my  wrists, 
and  whether  those  that  set  them  had  heen  kindly,  being 
of  my  own  name  and  clan,  or  whether  the  gyves  were 
weak,  I  cannot  tell.  At  all  events,  my  hands  Avere  free, 
and  so,  with  never  a  weapon  in  my  possession,  I  leaped 
on  a  horse — the  same,  indeed,  which  the  King  had  been 
riding — and  set  it  to  the  gallop  after  the  man  whose 
death  was  my  life. 

It  was  the  maddest,  foolishest  venture,  for  doubtless 
my  enemy  was  well  armed.  But  I  seemed  to  see  my  love, 
and  all  the  endowment  of  grace  and  favor  I  was  to  re- 
ceive with  her,  vanishing  away  with  every  stride  of  John 
Mure's  horse.  Besides,  there  was  a  King  and  an  Earl 
looking  on  ;  so  upon  the  King's  horse  I  settled  down  to 
a  long  chase. 

I  was  already  far  forward  ere  behind  me  I  heard  the 
clatter  of  mounting  men,  the  crying  to  restive  horses  to 
stand  still,  and  the  other  accompaniments  of  a  cavalcade 
leaping  hastily  into  the  saddle.  But  when  I  looked  at 
John  Mure  upon  his  fleet  steed,  and  saw  that  I  upon  the 
King's  horse  but  scarcely  held  mine  own,  I  knew  that 
the  stopping  of  the  murderer  must  be  work  of  mine,  if  it 
were  to  be  done  at  all.  So  I  resolved  to  chance  it,  in 
spite  of  whatever  armory  of  weaj)ons  he  might  carry. 

But  first  I  cleared  my  feet  of  the  great  stirrups  which 
the  King  used,  so  that  if  it  came  to  the  bitter  pinch,  and 
I  was  stricken  with  a  bullet  or  pierced  with  steel,  I 
should  not  be  dragged  helpless  along  the  ground  with 
my  foot  in  the  iron,  as  once  or  twice  I  had  seen  happen 
in  battle. 

And  that,  though  an  easily  memorable,  is,  I  can  bear 
witness,  not  a  bonny  sight. 


THE   JUDGMENT   OF   GOD  355 

My  charger  stretched  away  as  though  he  had  been 
a  beagle  running  conies  of  the  down  into  their  holes. 
But  John  Mure's  horse  went  every  whit  as  fast.  I  saw 
well  that  he  made  for  the  deep,  trackless  spaces  of  Kil- 
lochan  wood.  The  oak-trees  that  grew  along  its  edge 
stretched  out  their  arms  to  hide  him  ;  the  birken  shaw 
waved  all  its  green  boughs  with  a  promise  of  security.  I 
shortened  my  grip  upon  the  stout  golden-crowned  staff 
which  the  King  carried  at  the  pommel  of  his  saddle. 

Yet  as  John  Mure  drave  madly  towards  the  wood,  and 
sometimes  looked  over  his  shoulder  to  see  how  I  came  on, 
I  was  overjoyed  to  notice  a  wide  ditch  before  him  which 
he  must  needs  overleap — and  at  that  business,  if  at  no 
other,  I  thought  to  beat  him,  being  slim  and  of  half  his 
weight. 

So  I  kept  my  horse  to  the  right  upon  better  ground, 
though  it  took  me  a  little  out  of  the  straight  course  for 
the  wood.  His  horse  at  the  first  refused  the  leap,  and  I 
counted  upon  him  as  mine.  But  I  counted  too  soon,  for 
he  went  down  the  bankside  a  short  way  to  an  easier  place, 
where  there  was  a  landward  man's  bridge  of  trees  and 
sods.  Here  he  easily  walked  his  horse  across,  and,  hav- 
ing mounted  the  bank,  he  waved  his  hand  at  me  and  set 
off  again  towards  the  wood. 

But  now  while  he  had  an  uneven  country  to  overpass  I 
had  only  the  green  fields,  rich  in  old  pasture  and  un- 
dulating like  the  waves  of  an  oily  tide  when  the  sea  is 
deep  and  there  is  no  break  of  the  water.  He  was  at  the 
very  edge  of  the  wood  before  I  came  upon  his  flank. 
Then  I  gave  a  loud  shout  as  I  set  my  horse  to  his  speed 
and  circled  about  to  head  him  off.  But  John  Mure, 
though  an  old  man^  only  settled  himself  firmer  in  his 
saddle,  and  with  his  sword  in  his  hand  rode  soldierly  and 
straight  at  the  wood,  as  though  I  had  not  been  in  front 
of  him  at  all. 

It  was  wisely  enough  done,  for  his  heavier  beast  took 


356  THE    GEAY    MAlf 

mine  upon  the  shoulder  and  almost  rolled  me  in  the  dust. 
He  came  upon  me,  not  front  to  front  as  a  rider  meets 
his  foe  in  the  lists,  but,  as  it  were,  stem  to  side,  like  two 
boats  that  meet  upon  converging  tacks. 

Yet  I  managed  to  avoid  him,  being  light  and  supple, 
though  he  leaned  far  over  and  struck  savagely  at  me  as 
he  passed.  Again  at  the  third  shock  he  had  almost  over- 
ridden me  and  made  me  die  the  death.  But  I  had  not 
practised  horsemanshij)  and  the  art  of  fighting  in  the  sad- 
dle so  long  for  nothing.  Indeed,  on  all  the  seaboard  of 
Ayr  there  was  no  one  that  could  compare  Avith  me  in  these 
things.  Therefore,  it  was  easy  for  me,  by  dint  of  my 
quickness  and  skill,  to  swerve  off  to  the  right  and  re- 
ceive the  sword  stroke  in  my  cloak,  which  I  carried 
twisted  about  my  left  arm. 

Then,  keeping  still  between  the  wood  and  John  Mure, 
I  met  him  this  time  face  to  face,  with  my  eyes  watching 
the  direction  of  his  eye  and  the  crook  of  his  elbow,  that 
I  might  know  where  he  meant  to  strike.  For  a  good 
sworder  knows  the  enemy's  intent,  and  his  blade  meets 
it  long  ere  thought  can  pass  into  action. 

So  it  was  no  second-sight  which  told  me  that  he  meant 
to  slash  me  across  the  thigh  when  he  came  a-nigh  me.  I 
knew  it  or  ever  his  blade  Avas  raised.  So  that  when  he 
struck  I  Avas  ready  for  him  and  measured  his  sword,  prov- 
ing my  distance  as  it  had  been  upon  parade.  And  as  the 
blade  Avhistled  by  me  I  judged  that  it  was  my  turn,  and 
struck  him  Avith  all  the  force  I  could  muster  a  crashing 
bloAV  upon  the  face  Avith  the  heaA^y  butt  of  the  King's 
staA'e,  which  stunned  and  unsettled  him  so  that  he  pitched 
forAvard  upon  his  horse,  yet  not  so  as  to  lose  his  seat. 

Nevertheless,  owing  to  the  swing  of  my  arm,  the  stroke 
fell  also  partly  upon  his  horse's  back,  Avhich  affrighted 
the  beast  and  set  him  harder  than  ever  to  the  running. 
So  that  I  Avas  passed  ere  I  kncAV  it,  and  the  Avood  was 
won.     But  I  was  not  thirty  yards  behind  him,  and  looked 


THE   JUDGMENT  OF   GOD  357 

to  make  the  capture  ere  we  reached  the  farther  side. 
And  but  for  a  foul  trick  I  should  have  done  it.  It  so 
hapjjens  that  there  is  a  little  hill  in  the  woods  of  Killo- 
clian,  and  I,  seeing  that  John  Mure  was  riding  about  one 
side,  took  round  the  other,  thinking  that  I  had  the 
shorter  line  of  it. 

But  he,  so  soon  as  he  saw  me  make  round  the  corner, 
turned  his  horse  into  its  own  hoof-marks  and  sped  away- 
back  again — as  it  had  been  to  meet  them  that  pursued, 
but  at  the  same  time  bearing  enough  to  the  south  to 
clear  them  easily.  So  that  when  I  came  round  the  hill 
I  saw  no  quarry,  and  only  heard  the  boughs  crashing  in 
his  wake. 

Nevertheless,  without  the  loss  of  a  moment,  I  took  the 
line  of  his  retreat  (as  I  thought),  yet  not  so  correctly  but 
that  when  I  issued  forth  from  the  wood  I  saw  him  nigh 
half  a  mile  in  front.  Again  he  waved  a  contumelious 
hand,  which  made  me  so  fiercely  angry  that  I  tightened 
my  waist-belt,  and  vowed  to  go  no  more  to  sunny  Culzean 
if  I  took  not  back  the  head  and  hands  of  John  Mure  at 
my  saddle-bow. 

So,  with  set  and  determined  brow,  I  rode  ever  forward. 
It  was  the  cast  of  the  die  for  me,  for  Nell  herself,  our 
life  together,  and  our  green  pastures  and  lavender-scent- 
ed napery  cupboards  were  all  to  come  out  of  the  catch- 
ing of  this  enemy  of  our  house.  It  is  small  wonder,  there- 
fore, that  I  was  passing  keen  upon  the  matter. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  my  endeavors,  I  gained  but  little. 
And  it  was  already  graying  to  the  twilight  when  I  came 
to  a  place  by  the  seashore,  waste  and  solitary,  where  there 
were  but  few  houses  about.  I  had  seen  John  Mure  ride 
in  thitherwards.  And  so  I  followed  him  full  tilt,  reck- 
less of  danger,  being  weary-heart  with  the  ill-fortune  of 
my  riding  and  quest. 

But  as  I  entered  the  narrows  of  the  pass  a  stone  flew 
from  an  ambuscade.     I  felt  a  hot,  stunning  blow  upon 


358  THE   GRAY   MAN 

tlie  head,  and  with  the  pain  I  remember  laying  hokl  of 
my  horse's  mane  and  gripping  tight  with  the  hand  on 
Avhich  a  broken  manacle  still  jangled.  Something  warm 
flowed  over  my  brow,  and  suddenly  I  saw  everything  red, 
as  though  I  had  been  looking  through  the  stained  glass 
of  some  ancient  kirk — red  flowers,  red  grass,  red  sand, 
and  red  sea. 

That  was  all  I  saw,  and  I  do  not  remember  even  fall- 
ing to  the  ground. 


CHAPTER  XLVII 
THE    PLACE    OF   THE    LEGION"    OF    DEVILS 

When  I  woke  it  was  exceedingly  dark,  but  a  darkness 
with  shooting  lights  and  hideous  sounds.  At  the  first 
start  I  thought  that  I  was  dead  and  in  the  place  of  tor- 
ment. And  when  I  grew  a  little  more  awake  I  wished 
to  God  that  I  had  been.  For  all  about  were  swart  naked 
men  and  harjiy-clawed  women  dancing  round  me,  while 
on  a  cask  or  keg  at  my  head  sat  John  Mure  himself, 
wrapped  in  his  cloak,  and  regarding  me  with  gloating, 
baleful,  bloodshot  eyes. 

Then  I  knew  that  I  was  lost  indeed.  For  by  the  flick- 
ering light  of  a  dying  fire  of  driftwood  I  could  see  that 
I  was  again  in  the  cave  of  Sawny  Bean,  in  the  same  wide 
hall  with  the  strange  narrow  hams  a-swing  on  the  roof, 
the  tubs  of  salt  meat  festering  under  the  eaves,  and  the 
wild  savage  crew  dancing  about  me. 

What  wonder  that  my  heart  fainted  within  me  to  be 
thus  left  alone  in  that  den  of  hideous  things,  and  es- 
pecially to  think  of  the  free  birds  going  to  their  beds  on 
the  cliffs  above  me,  and  the  fishing  solan  geese  circling 
and  balancing  home  to  the  lonely  rock  of  Ailsa. 

"  Ha,  Sir  Launcelot  Kennedy,"  said  a  mocking  voice, 
as  the  deafening  turmoil  quieted  a  little,  "you  are  near 
your  honors  now — that  is,  if  there  be  such  bauble  dig- 
nities either  in  heaven  or  hell.  The  Treasure  of  Kel- 
wood  in  hand,  John  Mure's  life  out  of  hand — and  there 
on  the  shelf  (as  it  were)  are  your  broad  acres  and  your 
bonny  lady !" 


360  THE    GRAY   MAN 

I  was  silent,  for  I  knew  that  nothing  could  avail  me 
now.     It  was  useless  to  waste  words. 

"But  ere  all  that  comes  to  pass,"  he  went  on,  ''there 
are  sundry  little  formalities  to  be  gone  through.  Oh,  we 
are  right  dainty  folk  here  in  Sawny  Bean's  mansion. 
You  shall  be  kept  warm  and  cherished  tenderly.  There 
are  here  twenty  sonsier  queans  than  the  one  whose  heart 
you  desire.  Warmly  shall  they  welcome,  sweetly  shall 
they  cherish  handsome  Sir  Launcelot.  Their  embrace- 
ments  shall  sting  you  more  than  all  sweethearting  rapt- 
ures." 

Again  he  pauses  to  observe  the  effect  of  his  words. 

"You  that  so  lately  held  me  in  chase,  like  a  steer  that 
has  escaped  from  the  shambles.  Now  you  yourself  are  in 
the  thills.  You  that  have  crossed  me  a  thousand  times 
in  my  plans  since  that  frore  night  in  Sir  Thomas  Nes- 
bitt's  yard  in  Maybole,  you  shall  now  be  crossed  in  a  new 
fashion.  You  that  wagged  tongue  so  merrily  at  another's 
expense,  you  shall  see  your  tongue  wag  upon  the  red-hot 
brander  to  an  unkenned  tune. 

"  You  that  have  ridden  so  fast  and  so  far,  you  shall  ride 
your  last  ride — ride  slowly,  very  slowly,"  cried  the  fiend 
in  my  ear,  "for  I  shall  hoard  every  drop  of  your  blood 
as  John  of  Cassillis  hoards  his  gold  rose  nobles.  I  shall 
husband  every  minute  of  your  life,  as  though  they  were 
the  hours  of  young  bridal  content. 

"Ye  have  bruised  my  old  face  indeed  with  your  oaken 
staff,  but  I  will  cherish  yours,  that  is  youthful  and  bloom- 
ing. Tenderly  shall  we  take  off  the  coverture  of  hide, 
the  tegument  of  beauty.  Sawny  Bean  has  famous  skill 
in  such  surgery.  Gently  will  we  lay  you  down  in  the 
swarming  nest  of  the  patient  ant.  We  have  read  how 
Scripture  bids  the  sluggard  go  to  the  ant,  for  if  that 
makes  him  not  lively,  nothing  will.  I  have  ofttimes 
commented  on  the  passage  at  family  worship.  And  I 
must  see  that  the  young  and  headstrong,  like  you,  my 


THE    PLACE    OF   THE   LEGION    OF    DEVILS  361 

Lord  Launcelot,  give  heed  to  that  which  is  command- 
ed."' 

But  in  spite  of  all  his  terrible  threatenings,  I  bode  still 
and  answered  him  never  a  word.  Tliey  laid  logs  of  drift- 
wood upon  the  fire,  till  the  whole  inside  of  the  cave  grew 
bright  and  clear  ;  and  all  the  monstrous  deformity  of  the 
women  and  the  cruel  hideousness  of  the  men  were  made 
apparent  as  in  broad  daylight.  Some  of  them  were 
painted  and  stained  like  demons,  and  danced  and  leajoed 
through  the  fire  like  them,  too.  For  such  monsters  have 
not  been  heard  of,  much  less  seen,  in  the  history  of  any 
country  as  were  Sawny  Bean  and  his  crew  in  the  cave 
upon  the  seashore  of  Bennanbrack. 

"  Bring  me  a  knife,"  cried  John  Mure  from  where  he 
sat,  for  he  appeared  like  a  chief  devil  among  a  company 
of  gibbering  lubber  fiends.  He  had  still  his  gray  cloak 
about  him.  His  plumed  hat  was  upon  his  head,  and  he 
looked,  save  for  the  eyes  of  him,  in  which  the  fires  of  hell 
burned,  a  civil,  respectable,  well-put-on  man  of  means  and 
substance.  As,  indeed,  save  for  his  evil  heart,  he  might 
have  been,  for  he  came  of  as  good  a  family  as  the  Earl  of 
Cassillis,  or,  as  might  be,  as  I  myself,  Lauucelot  Kennedy 
of  Kirrieoch. 

So  when  Auchendrayne  asked  for  a  knife,  Sawny  Bean 
himself,  the  ruffian  kemper,  low-browed,  buck-toothed, 
and  inhuman,  brought  it  to  him  with  a  grin.  He  made 
as  if  he  would  have  set  it  in  me  to  the  hilt.  But  John 
Mure  stayed  him. 

"  Bide,"  he  said,  "  not  so  fast.  There  is  long  and  sweet 
pleasuring  to  come  before  that — such  slow,  relishing  de- 
light, such  covetous  mouseplay  of  the  brindled  cat,  such 
luxurious  tiger-licking  of  the  delicate  skin  till  it  be  raw, 
such  well-conceited  dainty  torments,  as  when  one  would 
bite  his  love  and  be  glad  of  it.  He  shall  taste  them  all, 
this  frolic  squire  of  errant  dames,  this  gamesome  player 
upon  pipes,  this  curious  handler  of  quaint  love-tunes.    Ere 


362  THE   GRAY   MAN 

we  pluck  the  red  rose  of  his  life,  he  shall  sate  himself  with 
new  delicious  experience  —  rarer  than  the  handling  of 
many  maidens'  tresses." 

I  was  moved  to  speak  to  him. 

"1  ask  not  mercy,"  said  I,  ''^  for  I  own  that  I  would  have 
killed  you  if  I  could.  But  as  you  are  a  valiant  man,  give 
me  a  sword  and  let  me  make  a  stand  for  it  against  you  all, 
that  as  I  have  lived  so  I  may  also  die  fighting." 

But  he  mocked  me,  hurrying  on  in  his  heady  turmoil  of 
words. 

'•^ '  If  I  be  a  man,'  you  say — who  said  that  I  was  a  man  ? 
Do  I  act  as  other  men  ?  Is  my  knowledge  like  that  of 
other  men  ?  Do  I  company  with  other  men  ?  Call  you 
that  a  man  ?"  (He  pointed  to  Sawny  Bean,  who  for  wan- 
tonness sat  on  an  upturned  tub,  striking  with  a  keen- 
edged  knife  at  the  legs  of  all  that  came  by  for  mere  delight 
of  blood,  storming  at  them  meantime  with  horrid  impre- 
cations to  approach  nearer  and  be  flicked.)  "  Or  call  you 
these  men  ?"  (He  showed  me  some  of  the  younger  canni- 
bal race  gnawing  like  kennelled  dogs  at  horrid  bones.) 
"'Na.y,  my  dainty  wanton,  you  shall  not  enter  hell  through 
the  brave  brattle  of  warring  blades,  nor  yet  handling  your 
rapier  like  a  morris-dancer.  But  as  the  blood  drains  to 
the  white  from  the  stricken  calf,  so  shall  they  whiten  your 
flesh  for  the  tooth,  and  so  reluctantly  shall  your  life  drip 
from  you  drop  by  drop." 

And  I  declare  that  this  scornful  fiend  telling  me  of 
tortures  in  choice  words  made  me  scunner  more  than  the 
prick  of  the  knife.  For  the  abhorred  invention  quickened 
the  imagination  and  set  the  nerves  agate. 

So  that  I  was  honestly  glad  when  he  took  knife  in  hand 
— a  shoemaker's  curved  blade  with  a  keen  cutting  edge. 

"  Strip  him  naked  !"  he  cried.  And  very  cheerfully  so 
they  did,  smiting  me  the  meantime  with  the  broad  of  their 
hand. 

Then  John  Mure  leaned  over  me  delicately,  and  made 


1^ 

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M 

o 

a 
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X 


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O 

O 
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o 
a 

CO 


THE   PLACE   OF  THE   LEGION   OF   DEVILS  363 

as  though  he  would  have  traced  with  his  knife  the  Joint- 
ing of  my  limbs,  saying,  "Thus  and  thus  shall  the  she- 
tribe  dismember  your  body  when  the  torture  of  the  ants' 
nest  is  ended."  And  again,  "  Here  is  toothsome  eating, 
Sawny  Bean,  thou  chief  lover  of  dainty  vivers." 

Then,  as  the  evil  man  went  on  with  his  pitiless  jestings, 
his  gray  cloak  began  to  waver  before  mc,  his  face  to  glow 
like  fire,  and  I  fainted  or  dwamed  away  till  the  sharp  knife 
pricked  me  into  consciousness  again. 

Yet  Auchendrayne  overdid  his  threatening,  for  the  too 
sharp  relish  of  the  words  issued,  in  tranced  dulness  ere  the 
matter  came  to  action.  And  of  torture  there  was  none 
that  I  can  now  remember  or  bear  the  mark  of — save  only 
the  slight  scores  of  the  knife  which  he  made  when  he 
showed  me  where  they  would  joint  and  haggle  my  body. 

Indeed,  I  mind  no  more  till  I  came  to  myself,  lying  on 
my  back,  with  the  cave  all  empty  save  for  John  Mure, 
who  sat,  as  before,  with  his  hand  to  his  ear  listening. 

But  there  sounded  a  great  and  furious  uproar  down  by 
the  cave  mouth,  the  deep  baying  of  blood-hounds,  the 
fierce  cry  of  many  voices  striving  for  mastery,  and  above 
all  the  shrieks  of  the  smitten. 

Surely,  I  thought,  there  is  a  battle  fierce  and  fell  at  the 
cave's  mouth.  John  Mure  sat  and  listened  for  a  long 
space,  and  presently  he  looked  over  at  me. 

"  I  will  even  make  sure  of  him,  come  what  may,"  he 
said. 

And  with  that  he  took  the  knife  and  came  nearer  to 
smite  me  in  the  breast,  and  I  lay  as  one  dead  already, 
waiting  for  the  stroke. 

But  even  in  that  moment  as  I  held  my  breath  a  ravening 
hound  darted  within  the  cave,  overleaped  the  embers  of 
the  fire,  and  pinned  the  gray-haired  murderer  to  the  earth 
by  the  throat.  He  struck  out  desperately,  but  the  dog 
held  him  fast.  Another  and  another  came  in,  till,  as  it 
seemed, he  was  in  danger  of  being  torn  to  pieces  of  dogs. 


364  THE   GRAY   MAJST 

But  me  they  minded  not  at  all,  for,  as  I  say,  I  lay  as 
one  dead. 

And  this  is  the  story  of  the  chase  as  Nell  told  it  to  me 
when  all  was  over. 

As  they  of  the  King's  company  looked  from  the  shore 
towards  the  south,  there  in  the  distance  was  John  Mure 
on  his  horse  disappearing  into  the  wood,  and  I  (as  it 
seemed)  at  his  very  heels.  Both  of  us  were  leaning  far 
forward,  like  men  that  run  a  race.  And  because  she 
knew  that  I  carried  no  equipment  with  me,  Nell  leaped 
upon  a  horse  with  a  sword  laid  before  her  crosswise  on 
the  saddle. 

Whereupon  I  turned  to  Nell  and  called  her  the  bravest 
maid  in  broad  Scotland,  with  other  names  as  I  could 
mind  them.  But  she  set  her  head  aside,  and  would  con- 
tent me  nothing  (though  I  was  minded  for  kindness), 
saying  only,  "  If  you  do  not  desire  to  hear  the  tale,  then 
I  am  saved  the  fash  of  telling  it.  'Tis  no  time  for  fool- 
ing," said  she,  ^'when  I  am  speaking  of  the  saving  of 
your  life." 

"Nell,"  said  I,  for  I  was  nettled  at  her  indifference, 
^^thou  art  an  unseasoned  lass,  skilless  in  love's  mysteries." 

"  I  want  none  of  Kate  Allison's  love-skilling  at  second 
hand,"  said  Nell,  harking  back  like  a  pretty  shrew  on  her 
former  taunts.  "  Since  ye  are  so  wise,  unriddle  me  the 
manner  of  your  saving  from  the  cave  of  Sawny  Bean,  and 
I  am  content  to  yield  me  to  your  teaching  in  the  mys- 
teries." 

Yet  even  with  this  fair  promise  I  could  not,  but  de- 
sired her  instead  to  continue  her  tale-telling. 

"  Well,"  said  she,  ''Robert  Harburgh  it  was  who,  next 
after  me,  took  horse — and  not  far  behind  either.  For 
he  had  but  to  disentangle  the  bridle  from  his  arm,  while 
I  had  to  beguile  another  to  lend  me  his  horse. 

''So,  in  a  little,  we  were  all  after  you,  and  we  took  the 


THE   PLACE   OF  THE   LEGION   OF   DEVILS  365 

wood  in  the  very  place  you  entered.  But  naught  could 
we  find  save  the  trail  of  you  all  confused  among  the 
trees.  Then  what  a  chasing  hither  and  thither  there  fol- 
lowed. Even  the  King  searched  for  you  like  any  com- 
mon man,  and  puffed  and  blew  upon  his  jiurple  cheeks 
like  the  dominie  on  his  pipes.  And  he  that  had  been 
our  companion,  this  same  dominie,  went  about  every- 
where, seeking  and  crying  each  time  that  he  came  near 
to  me,  '  Reckless  loon,  reckless  loon,  well  he  deserves  to 
be  unbreeched  and  soundly  paid  for  this  hardiness.' 

"  Then  we  utterly  lost  you,  and  I  believe  they  would 
have  given  up  the  search.  But  I  minded  me  of  the  dogs 
that  James  of  Chapeldonnan  keeps  for  his  own  purposes, 
which  on  my  way  to  Ailsa  I  had  seen  his  wife  feed.  So 
I  told  the  Earl  John  of  them,  and  he  had  James  Banna- 
tyne  brought,  and  bade  him  bring  them  to  set  on  the 
trail,  promising  him  his  life  if  the  matter  were  brought 
to  a  good  issue. 

"And  so  Robert  Harburgh  and  a  few  swords  were  sent 
to  Chapeldonnan  with  James  Bannatyne — with  his  life 
upon  it  if  he  played  them  false,  and  Robert  Harburgh's 
sword  near  his  ribs  each  time  that  he  faltered  or  failed  to 
remember.  And  the  goodwife,  seeing  her  man  in  such 
deadly  case,  came  back  herself  to  plead  with  tlie  King 
for  him. 

"  So  the  Chapeldonnan  pack  was  laid  on  the  trail,  and 
fine,  well-hungered  blood-hounds  they  were.  But  so  soon 
as  I  heard  the  first  deep  bay,  when,  with  noses  on  the 
ground,  they  took  the  line  of  the  shore,  it  went  to  my 
heart  that  since  you  were  the  last  to  enter  the  wood  the 
dogs  would  first  seize  you.  So  I  cried  a  word  to  Robert 
Harburgh,  and  we  two  that  loved  you  spurred  horses  and 
sped  on  wellnigh  level  with  the  dogs. 

''And  through  all  the  windings  and  wimplings  of  your 
path  we  followed  till  we  came  to  the  shore,  where,  together 
with  the  King's  oaken  staff  which  had  been  in  your  hand. 


366  THE    GRAY    MAN 

we  found  the  place  all  trampled  with  naked  feet  and  stains 
of  blood.  So  we  traced  you  across  the  shore  grass  to  the 
sand  and  over  the  sand  into  the  sea,  with  a  company  of 
bare  feet  and  many  stains  of  blood. 

"  Then  for  a  moment  I  knew  not  what  to  think.  But 
Marjorie,  my  sister,  cried  out,  'It  is  the  vile  wretches  of 
Sawny  Bean's  band  who  have  taken  him  to  the  Cave  of 
Death  !' 

"  Then  I  remembered  that  the  entrance  to  the  cavern 
was  among  the  rocks,  and  yet  because  of  the  gladness  that 
was  in  our  hearts  when  we  issued  forth,  I  had  taken  no 
very  great  pains  to  mind  the  exact  place.  Nor  was  the 
dominie  aught  the  wiser.  For  he  had  been  wholly  intent 
on  blowing  upon  his  pipes.  But  Marjorie  minded  better 
than  any  of  us  the  cleave  in  the  rocks,  and  showed  us  to  a 
nearness  where  the  cave  entrance  was.  But  the  tide  had 
flowed  in,  and  we  had  perforce  to  wait  and  calm  our  im- 
patience as  best  we  might  till  it  went  back  again,  ere  we 
could  follow  into  the  cave  mouth.  But  by  this  time  it 
was  dark,  so  that  the  men-at-arms  had  to  find  rosin  torches 
and  set  them  alight. 

"  Thus  with  the  flambeaux  blazing  and  the  smoke  wav- 
ering red  overhead  we  took  our  way  along  the  wet  edge  of 
the  sea.  But  the  tide  had  washed  away  all  traces  of  blood 
and  feet.  Up  and  down  the  coast  we  wandered,  trying 
every  covert.  And  yet  for  our  lives  we  could  not  hit  upon 
the  right  cave's  entrance.  The  dogs  ran  yelping  and 
nosing  here  and  there,  but  for  long  nothing  came  of  it. 

"  Then  Earl  John  and  the  King  himself  threatened 
James  Bannatyne  to  reveal  the  place.  But  he  denied  that 
he  had  any  knowledge  of  the  cave.  And  whether  he  spoke 
truth  or  no  I  cannot  say.  But  his  wife  went  to  the  King 
and  holding  his  bridle-rein,  she  said,  '  Well  do  I  ken,  your 
Majesty,  that  my  man's  life  is  forfeit,  but  he  is  my  hus- 
band. And  at  least,  so  far  as  it  concerns  him  and  me, 
betwixt  barn  door  and  bed-stock  I  can  rule  him  as  a  wife 


THE    PLACE    OF   THE    LEGION    OF    DEVILS  367 

should.  Gin  I  persuade  him  to  lead  you  to  the  spot,  will 
ye  on  your  word  give  me  my  ain  man's  life  ?' 

"  So  the  King  promised,  though  Earl  John  hung  a  little 
on  the  form  of  the  words.  Then  went  the  goodwife  of 
Chapeldonnan  to  her  husband.  And  what  she  said  to  him 
I  know  not,  for  they  spake  privily  and  apart.  But  though 
at  first  he  shook  his  head  and  denied,  as  I  could  see,  that 
he  had  any  knowledge  of  the  Cave  of  Death,  yet  in  a  little 
while  he  took  some  other  thought  and  ran  forward  to  grip 
one  of  the  dogs. 

"  Then  went  James  Bannatyne  on  ahead,  with  all  of  us 
hotfoot  after  him,  with  the  torches  and  the  swords." 

"And  you  also,  Nell,"  said  I ;  ''were  you  lurking  with 
the  men-at-arms,  and  which  had  you,  a  sword  or  a  torch  ?" 

"  I  had  both,"  said  Nell  Kennedy,  shortly.  And  went 
on  with  her  tale  as  if  she  had  been  speaking  of  milking- 
stools. 

"James  Bannatyne  took  the  dog  into  all  the  wide  cave 
mouths  and  made  him  smell  the  walls  and  floor  above  the 
tide  mark,  talking  to  the  brute  all  the  time  and  encour- 
aging him.     But  for  a  long  time  it  was  still  in  vain. 

"  At  last  the  other  dog  which  had  been  left  to  itself 
bayed  out  suddenly  from  among  the  rocks,  where  it  had 
found  a  dark  and  dismal  archway  Avith  a  wide  pool  of  wa- 
ter in  it,  which  Ave  had  passed  time  and  again  without 
suspicion.  And  at  the  entrance  to  this  place  we  found 
the  second  hound,  with  tail  erected,  baying  up  the  cave 
mouth  from  the  edge  of  the  pool. 

"  Then  so  soon  as  James  Bannatyne  brought  in  his  well- 
taught  dog,  it  began  to  smell  hither  and  thither  Avith 
erected  ears  and  bristling  hair.  Presently  it  swam  away 
into  the  darkness.  And  because  the  men  hesitated  to  go 
after  the  beast,  I  took  the  Avater  to  shoAV  them  the  Avay." 

Hearing  which,  I  had  made  my  acknowledgments. 

But  Nell  said,  "No,  no  ;  hear  my  tale  first. 

"  Then  Avith  me  there  came  Eobert  Harburgh,  and  after 


368  THE   GEAY   MAK 

him  the  Earl  and  all  his  company  with  their  torches. 
The  pool  proved  shallow,  and  after  many  turns  and  wind- 
ings we  came  to  a  wide  place — indeed,  to  the  same  beach 
with  sand  and  dripping  fingers  of  stone  where  we  had  first 
found  ourselves.  And  here  also  we  passed  the  remains  of 
our  boat,  for  it  was  to  this  point  that  we  had  rowed  that 
night  when  we  took  refuge  in  the  lion's  den.  The  sav- 
ages had  broken  most  of  it  np  for  firewood,  yet  enough 
remained  so  that  I  knew  it  again. 

''But  ere  the  men-at-arms  had  time  to  gather  behind 
ns,  a  host  of  wild  creatures  armed  with  stones,  knives, 
and  sheath-whittles  burst  upon  ns,  yelling  like  demons 
of  the  pit.  Women  also  there  were,  some  half  clad  and 
some  wholly  withont  cleading.  And  then  and  there  was 
a  fight  such  as  yon,  Launce,  love  to  tell  about,  but  I 
have  no  skill  in.  For  the  men-at-arms  shot,  and  we  that 
had  but  swords  struck,  while  the  wild  folk  shonted  and 
the  savage  women  bit  and  tore  with  tlieir  nails  till  the 
cavern  Avas  full  of  confused  noise  and  the  red  reek  of 
burning  torches.  But  ever  as  the  slain  rolled  among  our 
feet  they  gripped  to  pull  lis  down,  so  that  in  the  inter- 
vals of  his  fighting  Eobert  Harburgh  went  hither  and 
thither  "making  siccar,"as  he  said,  with  a  coup-de-grdce 
for  each  poor  clawing  wretch. 

"  And  in  the  narrow  doorway  through  which  you 
found  the  way  stood  the  chief  himself,  with  his  eyes 
fiery-red  and  his  hair  about  his  face.  He  gripped  a 
mighty  axe  in  his  hand,  and  with  it  he  stood  ready  to 
cleave  all  that  came  against  him.  Even  the  men  hesi- 
tated at  his  fearsome  aspect.  And  it  was  small  wonder. 
But  I  knew  that  there  was  no  other  way  to  the  inner- 
most cave,  so  I  cried  to  them  to  overpass  the  rabble  and 
drive  forward  at  all  hazards. 

"How  it  came  about  I  know  not,  but  a  moment  after 
I  found  myself  opposite  to  Sawny  Bean  himself  and  en- 
gaging him  with  your  sword — just  for  all  the  world  as  if 


THE    PLACE    OF   THE    LEGIO]Sr    OF   DEVILS  369 

it  had  been  in  the  armoire  room  of  Culzean  on  a  rainy- 
day ,  and  you  again  teaching  me  the  fence  of  blade 
against  Lochaber  axe.  But  though  I  had  not  wholly 
forgotten  my  skill,  doubtless  the  giant  had  soon  made  an 
end  of  me,  for  he  struck  fiercely  every  way.  But  sudden 
as  the  heathcat  springs  on  the  hill,  the  little  dominie 
leaped  upon  him  and  drove  his  sword  into  his  heart.  So 
that  Sawny  Bean  fell  with  Dominie  Mure  upon  his  breast. 
Then  because  he  was  not  able  to  pull  out  his  sword  again, 
being  too  close,  the  dominie  grijjped  his  dagger  and 
struck  again  and  again,  panting.  Aud  between  each 
blow  he  cried  out  the  name  of  a  lass — 'Mary  Torrance  ! 
Mary  Torrance  !'  he  said. 

"  Then  it  was  that  the  hounds  overleaped  the  two  of 
them  struggling  there  in  the  arch  and  sprang  on,  aud 
after  them  came  Eobert  Harburgh  and  I.  We  too  first 
entered  the  murky  place  of  death.  The  dogs  were 
mouthing  and  grijiping  the  Gray  Man.  But  you  lay 
naked  upon  the  sand  as  it  had  been  dead." 

This  was  the  matter  of  Nell's  tale,  and  I  will  now  in 
turn  take  up  mine  own  part  in  it,  from  the  time  at  which 
the  dogs  gripped  my  remorseless  enemy,  aud,  as  it  had 
been,  the  life  went  out  from  me. 


CHAPTER    XLVIII 

THE    FINDING   OF   THE  TKEASURE    OF    KELWOOD 

When  I  came  to  myself  the  cave  was  filled  Avith  armed 
men  and  the  confused  clamor  of  voices.  The  torches 
spluttered  and  reeked,  and  I  could  feel  that  my  naked 
body  was  covered  with  a  woman's  cloak  wrapped  well 
about  me.  Some  one  was  binding  up  my  head ;  and  as 
she  examined  to  see  if  all  had  been  rightly  done,  I  saw 
that  it  was  Nell  Kennedy.  So  I  called  her  softly  by  her 
name. 

But  she  bade  me  not  try  to  rise ;  and  looked  again  to 
my  head  to  see  that  it  had  no  serious  wound. 

Then  came  John  the  Earl  and  asked  how  I  did.  Where- 
upon, minding,  as  is  my  wont,  to  have  old  Time  by  the 
forelock,  I  spoke  of  his  promise, 

"  Here,"  I  said,  ''  is  the  murderer  John  Mure,  Here  is 
the  gang  of  monsters,  and  now  I  will  put  you  in  the  way 
of  obtaining  the  Treasure  of  Kelwood  if  you  will  fulfil  the 
promise  which  you  made  to  me," 

"AVhat  was  that  ?"  he  said,  shortly.  For  though  Earl 
John  liked  promising  well  enough,  he  was  not  so  fond  of 
performing  if  it  cost  him  aught,  as  in  this  case  it  was  like 
to  do. 

"My  sweetheart  here,  my  knighthood,  and  a  suitable 
down-sitting  of  land,"  said  I,  knowing  that  it  Avas  now  or 
never  with  me. 

Then  he  demurred  a  little,  and  hesitated,  so  that  for  a 
moment  1  thought  all  was  lost, 

"  Your  sweetheart  you  shall  have,"  he  said  at  last,  '^but 


THE    FINDING    OF   THE   TREASUKE    OF  KELWOOD      371 

the  others  are  not  in  my  gift  —  save  a  holding  of  hind, 
perhaps,  which  I  can  let  yon  for  a  trifling  return  when  it 
falls  vacant.'' 

And  so  rejoiced  was  I  to  think  of  getting  my  lass  that 
I  might  have  consented  to  this  ;  hut  Nell  was  behind  me, 
and  upon  pretence  of  arranging  a  knot  of  the  bandage  upon 
my  forehead,  she  whispered  in  my  ear,  "  Threat  him  with 
telling  the  King  about  the  treasure." 

So,  knowing  her  wisdom,  I  obeyed  her. 

"Well  then.  Earl  John,"  said  I,  "if  that  be  so,  and  a 
knighthood  and  suitable  heritages  are  not  in  your  power 
to  bestow,  here  at  hand  is  the  King.  Give  me  leave  to 
speak  with  him.  He  is  fond  of  treasure,  and  I  can  put  a 
brave  one  under  his  hand  !" 

"  Hush  I"  said  the  Earl,  looking  about  him  with  appre- 
hension. For  the  King  was  yet  in  the  place  with  Mar  and 
Lennox,  ordering  the  taking  down  and  burying  of  the 
strange,  white,  narrow-shaped  hams,  and  the  other  things 
that  turned  the  gay,  squeamish  folk  that  came  with  him 
pale  and  sick  only  to  look  upon  them.  "  Hush  !"  he  said 
again;  "above  all  things,  beware  what  you  say  to  the 
King.  Show  the  Kelwood  treasure  to  myself  alone,  and 
you  shall  have  Barrhill — ay,  and  all  Minnochside,  from 
the  Eowan-tree  to  the  forks  of  Trool,  and  I  will  even 
speak  to  the  King  about  the  knighting  !" 

"  Will  your  lordship  please  to  declare  it  before  witness- 
es," said  I,  Nell  j)rompting  me  as  before,  for  my  head  was 
dazed  ;  but  hers  was  singularly  clear. 

So  he  called  to  him  certain  honorable  men  of  his  name, 
and  promised  faithfully.     "  Are  you  content  ?"  said  he. 

So  I  said,  "  Nelly,  show  them  the  treasure.  Here  is  the 
key  !" 

And  she  rose  and  took  them  to  the  box — which,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  remained  still  where  Ave  had  left  it  in  the 
recess — and  she  fitted  the  key  in  the  lock,  and  it  turned 
without  a  sound.     And  there  the  Earl  bathed  his  hands 


373  THE   GRAY   MAN 

in  the  set  jewels,  the  loose  stones  of  price,  and  the  coined, 
golden  money,  plashing  them  through  his  fingers  with  a 
sound  like  a  spout  of  water,  till  for  fear  of  the  King  I 
advised  him  to  close  it  again. 

"  It  is  worth  the  bargain,"  said  he,  "  though  I  am  sorry 
to  have  promised  away  fair  Minnochside.  I  trow  it  was 
woman's  wit  that  guided  you  in  the  asking,  and  not  that 
thick-bandaged  head-piece  of  thine,  Launcelot  Kennedy." 

But  I  answered  not,  knowing  how  to  leave  well  alone 
when  a  man  is  pleased  with  himself.  So  the  Earl  placed 
Eobert  Harburgh  to  guard  the  chest,  and  to  lie  discreetly 
concerning  it  if  any  of  the  King's  men  should  come  near, 
saying  that  it  was  but  some  foulness  appropriate  to  the 
den. 

But  none  came  asking,  and  thus  was  the  Treasure  of 
Kelwood  conquest  forever  to  the  family  of  Cassillis. 

As  for  Sawny  Bean's  monstrous  brood,  is  it  not  re- 
corded how  they  were  carried  through  the  country  to 
Edinburgh,  and  how  as  they  went  the  folk  flocked  in 
from  leagues  away  to  see  and  execrate  them.  They  were 
hurried  straight  to  the  sands  of  Leith,  where,  without 
process  of  trial  or  pleading,  and  in  the  manner  prescribed 
for  such  fiends,  they  were  executed  out  of  hand  as  ene- 
mies to  the  human  race  in  general. 

Thus,  mainly  through  my  instrumentality,  was  the 
country  rid  of  a  monstrous  foul  blot  such  as  no  land 
since  the  flood  has  ever  been  cursed  with.  Though  I 
deny  not  that  Dominie  Mure  and  Nell  Kennedy  helped 
Avell  according  to  their  possibles,  yet  the  most  part  of 
the  credit  was  rightly  given  to  me,  Avho  had  twice  ad- 
ventured my  life  within  the  Cave  of  Death — though,  as 
I  admit,  on  both  occasions  against  my  will. 

Once  more  the  City  of  Edinburgh  swarmed  with  Ken- 
nedies, come  thither  to  the  great  trial.  There  had  not 
been  so  great  a  concurrence  of  Westland  folk  in  Edin- 


THE   FINDING    OF   THE   TREASURE    OF  KELWOOD     373 

burgh  since  the  memorable  day  when  young  Gilbert  of 
Bargany  cleared  the  causeway  of  us  of  the  house  of  Cas- 
sillis — for  which  afterwards  we  were  one  and  all  put  to 
the  horn,  to  our  great  and  lasting  honor,  as  hath  been 
related. 

At  the  West  Port  I  met  Patrick  Rippett,  he  who  had 
taunted  Benane  at  the  Maybole  snowballing. 

"  Whither  is  your  eye  gone  ?"  I  asked  him,  for  he  had 
a  black  patch  where  his  left  eye  should  have  been. 

"  A  fause  loon  pyked  it  out  and  offered  it  me  back  on 
the  end  of  his  rapier !"  said  Patrick  Eippett,  with  the 
utmost  unconcern. 

"And  what  said  ye  to  him?"  I  asked  of  Patrick,  be- 
cause he  was  not  a  man  to  take  a  jest  (and  such  a  jest) 
for  nothing. 

"Faith,  I  juist  bartered  him  fair.  I  offered  him  his 
heart  on  the  point  of  mine  !"  said  Eippett,  and  so  strolled 
away,  ogling  the  snooded  maids  at  the  windows  of  the 
high  lands  as  best  he  could  with  the  one  wicked  orb 
which  was  left  to  him. 

I  was  walking  with  my  father  at  the  time.  He  had 
ridden  the  long  way  from  Kirrieoch  on  a  white  pony,  all 
to  pleasure  my  mother. 

"  Ye  maun  gang  and  hear  the  laddie  gie  his  evidence," 
she  bade  him.  "  They  will  fright  him  to  deid  else,  amang 
thae  Edinburgh  men  o'  the  law.  They  are  no  canny. 
So  long  as  Launce  gets  striking  at  them  with  the  steel  I 
ken  he  is  safe  and  sound.  For  his  hand  can  e'en  keeja 
his  head,  as  a  Kennedy's  ever  should.  But  wha  kens 
what  they  may  do  to  my  laddie  when  he  stands  afore  the 
justicers,  and  the  lawyer  loons  come  at  him  wi'  their 
quips  and  quandaries  ?" 

"Faith,  then,  goodwife,"  said  my  father,  "ye  shall 
come  too.  And  thou  and  I  shall  ride  to  Edinburgh  like 
joes  that  are  newly  Aved." 

And  though  at  first  she  denied,  yet  at  the  last  she  con- 


374  THE   GRAY   MAN 

sented,  well-ploased  enough — having  a  desire  to  purchase 
garmentry  more  suitable  for  the  wife  of  a  laird  and  the 
mother  of  one  who  was  to  be  made  a  knight. 

When  my  mother  went  out  for  the  first  time  she  held 
up  her  hands  and  exclaimed  at  the  noise  and  bustle  of 
the  High  Street  —  the  soldiers  who  were  forever  march- 
ing to  and  fro  in  companies  with  drums  and  pipes,  the 
lasses  that  went  hither  and  thither  with  a  shawl  about 
their  heads,  and  bandied  compliments — and  such  compli- 
ments— with  swashbucklers  and  rantipole  'prentice  lads. 
''The  limmers,  they  need  soundly  skelping  !"  said  my 
mother,  "for  a'  that  they  carry  their  heads  so  high,  and 
their  kirtles  higher  than  their  heads  !" 

"'  Surely  scantly  that !"  said  my  father. 

"But  ay,"  continued  my  mother,  not  heeding  him  in 
her  press  of  speech,  "such  hair-brained  hempies  wad  be 
dookit  in  the  Limmers'  Dub  on  Saturday  in  every  decent 
country,  and  set  on  the  black  stool  of  repentance  ilka 
Sabbath  day.  I  wonder  what  the  King  and  the  minis- 
ters o'  Edinburgh  can  be  thinkin'  o'  ?" 

There  was,  however,  for  most  of  us  a  long  and  wear- 
waiting  ere  in  the  town  of  Edinburgh  the  High  Court  of 
Justiciary  was  ripe  for  the  hearing  of  the  case  against  the 
Mures.  But  Avhen  at  last  the  great  day  came  the  whole 
West  Country  was  there.* 

And  though  many  a  face  was  joyous  as  were  ours,  eke 
many  were  sad  and  lowering.  For  it  is  strange  that  such 
ill  men  should  have  some  to  love  them,  or  at  least  so  it  was 
with  John  Mure  the  elder.     And  so  there  were  in  the  city 

*  Sir  Launcelot  Kennedy,  of  Palgowan  aud  Kirrieocli,  appears 
somewliat  to  have  confused  tlie  dates  of  the  first  and  second  trials 
of  John  Mure  of  Aucbendrayne.  Indeed,  weakness  in  exact  cliro- 
nol()<!;y  is  common  to  his  record  and  to  the  contemporary  Hutm-ie  of 
the  Kennedies,  whicli  was  written  about  the  same  time  by  a  partisan 
of  the  oilier  side— it  may  even  be  by  John  Mure  of  Aucliendrayne 
himself. 


THE    FINDING    OF   THE   TREASURE    OF   KELWOOD     375 

Mures  by  the  score,  fighting,  bkxckavised  MacKerrows, 
cankered  Craufords,  with  all  the  disbanded  Bargany  dis- 
contents from  the  south  of  Carrick,  Drunimurchie's  broken 
band  from  the  liill-lands  of  Barr,  together  with  many  oth- 
ers. So  that  we  kept  our  swords,  as  at  our  first  visit  to 
the  town  in  the  days  of  Gilbert  Kennedy,  free  in  their 
scabbards  while  we  rufQed  it  along  the  pavement. 

And  I  mind  what  my  mother  said  the  first  time  she 
went  down  the  plainstones  with  me.  We  met  young  An- 
thony Kennedy  of  Benane,  and  I  perceived  that  it  was  his 
intent  to  take  the  wall  of  me.  So  I  squared  myself,  and 
went  a  little  before  Avith  my  hand  on  my  rapier  hilt  and 
my  elbows  wide,  also  cocking  fiercely  my  bonnet  over  my 
eye — which  assurance  feared  Anthony  so  greatly  that  he 
meekly  took  the  pavement  edge,  and  I  went  by  with  my 
mother  on  my  arm,  having,  as  I  thought,  come  oif  very 
well  in  the  matter. 

But  my  mother  stood  stock-still  in  amazement. 

"Laddie,  laddie,  I  kenned  na  what  had  taken  ye — ye 
prinked  and  passaged  for  a'  the  world  like  our  bantam 
cock  at  Kirrieoch  when  he  hears  his  neighbor  at  Kirrie- 
more  craw  in  the  prime  of  the  morn.  Gin  ye  gang  on 
that  gait  ye  will  get  your  kame  berried  and  scarted,  my 
lad.     So  listen  your  auld  mither,  and  walk  mair  humbly." 

At  this  I  was  somewhat  shamed,  and  dropped  behind 
like  a  little  whipped  messan  ;  for  my  mother  has  a  brisk 
tongue.  My  father  said  not  a  word,  but  there  was  a  look 
of  dry  humorsomeness  upon  his  face  which  I  knew  and 
feared  more  than  my  mother's  cliji-wit  tongue. 


CHAPTER  XLIX 
THE   GREAT   DAY    OF   TEIAL 

At  last,  however,  the  trial  was  set,  and  we  all  sum- 
moned for  our  evidence.  It  was  to  be  held  in  the  High 
Court  of  Justiciary,  and  Avas  a  right  solemn  thing.  A 
hot  day  in  midsummer  it  proved,  with  the  narrow,  over- 
crowded bounds  of  the  town  drowsed  with  heat,  and  yet 
eaten  up  with  a  plague  of  flies.  The  room  of  the  trial 
was  a  large  one,  with  a  dais  for  the  judges  at  the  end, 
the  boxes  for  the  prisoners,  and  a  tall  stool  with  steps 
and  a  bar  on  which  to  rest  the  hands  for  the  witnesses. 

And  in  the  long,  dark,  low,  oak -panelled  room  what  a 
crush  of  people  !  For  the  report  of  the  monstrous  deal- 
ing of  the  Mures  and  the  strangeness  of  their  crimes  had 
caused  a  mighty  coil  in  the  town  of  Edinburgh  and  in 
the  country  round  about.  So  that  all  the  time  of  the 
trial  there  was  a  constant  hum  about  the  doors — now  a 
continuous  murmur  that  forced  its  way  within,  and  now 
a  louder  roar  as  the  doors  were  opened  and  shut  by  the 
officers  of  the  court.  Also,  in  order  to  show  themselves 
busybodies,  these  pot-bellied  stripe- Jackets  Avent  and 
came  every  minute  or  two,  pushing  right  and  left  with 
their  halberts,  which  the  poor  folk  had  very  peaceably  to 
abide  as  best  they  might. 

But  the  disposition  of  the  rabble  of  the  city  was  a  mar- 
vel to  me.  For  being  stirred  up  by  the  Bargany  folk 
and  by  the  Earl  of  Dunbar,  Mure's  well-wisher,  it  was 
singularly  unfriendly  to  us.  So  that  we  were  almost 
feared  that  tlie  criminals  might,  after  all,  be  let  off  by 


THE    GREAT   DAY    OF   TRIAL  377 

the  overawing  of  the  assize  that  sat  upon  the  case.  But 
finally,  as  it  happened,  those  who  were  chosen  assize-men 
were  mostly  landward  gentlemen  of  stout  hearts  and  no 
subjection  to  the  clamor  of  the  vulgar — such,  indeed, 
as  should  ever  be  placed  upon  the  hearing  of  justice,  not 
mere  bodies  of  the  Luckenbooths,  who,  if  they  give  the 
verdict  against  the  popular  voice,  are  liable  to  have  their 
shops  and  stalls  plundered.  And  James  Scrymgeour  of 
Dudhope,  a  good  man,  was  made  the  chancellor  of  the 

jury- 
There  were  many  of  the  great  Lords  of  Session  on  the 

bench.    For  a  case  so  important  and  notable  had  not  been 

tried  for  years,  and  the  Lords  of  Secret  Council  appointed 

my  Lord  President  himself  to  be  in  the  chief  place  in  his 

robes,  as  Avell  as  five  other  justices  in  his  company,  that 

the  dittay  might  be  heard  with  all  equal  mind  and  with 

great  motion  of  solemnity. 

It  was  eleven  by  the  clock  when  the  ju'dges  were  ush- 
ered in,  Sir  John  Fenton  of  Fentonbarns,  Lord  Presi- 
dent, coming  first  and  sitting  in  the  midst. 

Then  the  crier  of  the  court  shouted,  "Way  for  His 
Majesty — for  King  James  the  Sext  make  way  !" 

And  all  the  people  rose  up  while  King  James  was  com- 
ing in.  He  sat  upon  the  bench  with  the  justices  indeed, 
but  a  little  way  apart,  as  having  by  law  no  share  in  their 
deliberations.  Nevertheless,  he  was  all  the  time  writing 
and  passing  pieces  of  white  paper  to  them,  whereat  they 
bowed  very  courteously  back  to  him.  But  whether  they 
took  any  notice  of  their  import  I  know  not. 

Then  the  prisoners  were  brought  in.  John  Mure  the 
elder,  with  his  gray  hair  and  commanding  presence,  looked 
out  of  from  beneath  his  eyebrows  like  a  lionignominiously 
beset.  James  Mure  the  younger  came  after  his  father, 
a  heavy,  loutish,  ignorant  man,  but  somewhat  paled  with 
his  bloody  handling  at  the  instance  of  the  Lords  of  Secret 
Council.     Also  in  accordance  with  the  promise  of  Earl 


378  THE   GRAY    MAN 

John  in  the  matter  of  the  finding  of  the  cave,  James  Ban- 
natyne  of  Chapeldonnan  was  not  set  up  for  trial  along 
with  them,  which  was  a  wonder  to  many  and  an  outcry  to 
some  of  the  evilly  affected. 

Then  the  court  being  set,  the  dittay  was  read  solemnly 
by  a  very  fair-spoken  and  courteous  gentleman,  Thomas 
Hamilton  of  Byres,  the  King's  advocate.  He  spoke  in  a 
soft  voice,  as  if  he  were  courting  a  lady.  And  whenever 
he  addressed  a  word  to  the  prisoners  it  was  as  if  he  had 
been  their  dearest  friend,  and  grieved  that  they  should 
thus  stand  in  jeopardy  of  their  lives. 

Yet,  or  so  it  seemed  to  me,  John  Mure  was  ever  his 
match,  and  answered  him  without  a  moment's  hesitancy. 

Then,  after  the  advocate's  opening,  the  evidence  was 
led.  They  called  upon  me  first  to  arise.  And  I  declare  that 
my  knees  trembled  and  shook  as  they  never  did  before  the 
shock  of  battle.  So  that  only  the  sight  of  Nell's  pale  face 
and  my  mother  holding  her  hand  at  all  gave  me  any  shred 
of  courage.  But,  nevertheless,  I  went,  with  my  tall,  blue- 
banded  hat  in  hand  and  my  Damascus  sword  by  my  side, 
to  the  stance.  And  there  I  told  all  that  I  had  seen— first 
of  the  murder  at  the  Chapel  of  St.  Leonards,  with  the 
matter  of  the  Gray  Man,  who  sat  his  horse  a  little  way 
apart  among  the  sand-hills.  Yet  could  I  not  declare  on 
mine  oath  that  I  knew  of  a  certainty  that  this  man  was 
the  accused  John  Mure  of  Auchendrayne.  Though  as 
between  man  and  man  I  was  wholly  assured  of  it. 

I  told  also  of  the  sending  of  the  letter  and  of  the  con- 
fusion of  the  lad  upon  his  return  from  the  house  of 
Auchendrayne,  and  of  all  the  other  matter  which  came 
under  my  observation,  even  as  I  have  detailed  them  in 
this  history,  but  more  briefly.  Then  a  tall,  thin,  leathery 
man.  Sir  John  Kussell  the  name  of  him,  advocate  for  the 
Mures,  stood  up  and  tried  to  shake  me  in  my  averments. 
But  he  could  not— no,  nor  any  other  man.  For  I  wasted 
no   thought  on  what  I  ought  to  say,  but  out  with  the 


THE    GREAT    DAY    OF   TRIAL  379 

plain  truth.  So  that  he  coukl  not  break  down  the  im- 
pregnable wall  of  the  thing  that  was,  neither  make  me 
say  that  which  was  not. 

Then  there  came  one  after  the  other  the  dominie, 
Meg  Dalrymple,  Robert  Harburgh,  and  lastly  my  own 
Nell.  But  they  had  little  more  to  tell  than  I  had  told  at 
the  first,  till  the  herald  of  the  court  cried  out  for  Mar- 
jorie  Mure,  or  Kennedy,  called  in  the  pleas  the  younger 
lady  of  Auchendrayne. 

Then,  pale  as  a  lily  flower  is  pale,  clad  in  white,  and 
with  her  hair  daintily  and  smoothly  braided,  she  rose  and 
gave  her  hand  to  my  Lord  Cassillis,  who  brought  her 
Avith  all  dignity  and  observance  to  the  witness-stance.  So 
firmly  she  stood  within  it  that  she  seemed  a  figure  of 
some  goddess  done  in  alabaster,  the  like  of  that  which  I 
had  once  seen  at  the  entering  in  of  the  King's  palace  at 
Holyrood  House. 

There  was  the  stillest  silence  while  Marjorie  told  her 
tale.  The  King  stood  up  in  his  place,  with  his  hat  on 
his  head,  to  look  at  her.  The  judges  gazed  as  though 
they  had  seen  a  ghost.  But  in  an  even  voice  she  related 
all  the  terrible  story,  making  it  clear  as  crystal,  till  there 
stood  out  the  full  wickedness  of  the  unparalleled  murders. 

"  You  are  the  wife  of  James  Mure,  the  younger  pris- 
oner," said  the  man  of  leather,  the  advocate  Eussell ; 
"  how,  then,  do  you  appear  to  give  evidence  against 
him  ?" 

"  I  was  first  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Kennedy  of  Cul- 
zean,  whom  these  men  slew  !"  said  she. 

And  this  was  her  sole  answer.  The  lawyers  for  the 
defence,  as  was  their  duty,  tried  to  make  it  out  that  her 
evidence  Avas  prejudiced,  and  so  to  shake  it.  But  the 
King  broke  out  upon  them,  "  No  more  than  we  are  all 
prejudiced  against  foul  murder  !" 

So  they  were  silenced.  But  the  judges  were  manifest- 
ly ill  at  ease,  and  shifted  in  their  seats  —  for  even  the 


380  THE   GRAY   MAN 

King  had  not  liberty  of  speech  in  that  phice.  Yet  no 
man  said  him  nay,  because  he  was  the  King,  and,  save 
it  were  Maister  Eobert  Bruce,  not  many  cared  to  brook 
his  sudden  violent  rages. 

Then  was  entered  James  Bannatyne,  Avho  had  been 
brought  to  confession  (in  Avhat  fashion  it  boots  not  to 
inquire),  and  he  in  his  turn  detailed,  line  by  line,  all  the 
iniquity.  So  it  seemed  that  now  the  net  was  indeed 
woven  about  the  cruel  plotters.  But  my  Lord  President, 
by  the  King's  authority,  was  instant  with  the  prisoners 
to  confess  the  murdering  of  Sir  Thomas  and  of  the  other 
— yea,  even  offering  liis  life  (but  no  more)  to  either  of 
them  who  would  reveal  the  matter,  and  tell  who  were 
complices  in  the  conspiracy. 

And  I  think  James  Mure  the  younger  was  a  little 
moved  at  this  offer,  for  I  saw  him  very  plainly  move  and 
shift  the  hand  that  was  upon  his  head.  His  father 
watched  him  with  a  sharp  eye,  and  once  set  his  manacled 
wrist  upon  his  son's  shoulder,  as  it  had  been  to  encourage 
him  to  remain  firm.  He  himself  stood  erect  and  un- 
daunted all  the  time  of  the  trial,  like  a  tower  of  ancient 
strength,  while  his  son  sat  upon  a  stool  with  his  back 
against  the  bars  of  the  box,  as  it  seemed  careless  of  the 
crimes  which  were  alleged  against  him.  He  had  not 
even  lifted  his  eyes  when  his  wife  Marjorie  went  into  the 
place  of  witnessing. 

At  last  it  was  all  over,  and  the  men  of  the  jury  spoke 
earnestly  together,  while  John  Mure  watched  them  with 
his  lion-like  eyes  shining  from  under  his  hassock  of  gray 
hair.  The  King  sat  impatiently  drumming  his  hands  upon 
a  rail.  He  would  have  liked,  I  could  see,  to  go  over  to 
confer  with  them.  But  even  King  Jamie  had  hardly 
dared  so  much  as  that. 

After  a  short  space  for  consultation  their  president  of 
assize.  Sir  James  Scrymgeour,  stood  up  in  the  body  of  the 
court  with  a  little  paper  in  his  hand. 


THE    GREAT    DAY    OF   TRIAL  381 

"  King's  lieges  all,  are  ye  agreed  in  your  verdict  ?"  asked 
my  Lord  President. 

"  We  are,"  said  Sir  James,  firmly. 

"  And  what  is  your  finding  ?" 

There  was  a  great  and  mighty  silence,  so  that  the  anx- 
ious tapping  of  the  King's  fingers  on  the  wooden  bench 
could  be  heard. 

"  We  find  them  both  Guilty — "  said  Sir  James. 

He  would  have  said  more  in  due  form,  but  there  was  a 
thunderous  shout  from  all  the  Westland  folk  that  were  in 
the  hall,  so  that  no  more  could  be  heard.  But  the  King 
was  seen  upon  his  feet  commanding  silence,  and  themacers 
of  the  court  struck  here  and  there  among  them  that 
shouted. 

Then  when  the  tumult  within  was  a  little  hushed  my 
Lord  President  rose  to  pronounce  sentence.  But  he  had 
scarce  ojjened  his  mouth  when  there  came  through  the 
open  windows  the  angry  roaring  of  the  mob  without.  For 
the  news  had  already  reached  them,  and  Dunbar  and 
others  were  busily  employed  stirring  them  up  to  make  a 
tumult  on  behalf  of  the  murderers.  My  Lord  President 
had  a  noble  voice,  and  the  words  of  condemnation  came 
clear  and  solemn  from  him,  so  that  they  were  heard  above 
the  din  by  every  ear  in  the  hall — ay,  and  even  as  far  as 
the  outer  port. 

"  We  discern  and  adjudge  John  Mure  of  Auchendrayne 
and  James  Mure  his  son  and  ajiparent  heir  to  be  ta'en  to 
the  Mercat  Cross  of  Edinburgh,  and  there  their  heads  to 
be  stricken  from  their  bodies — as  being  culpable  and  con- 
vict of  many  treasonable  and  heinous  crimes.  Which  is 
pronounced  for  Doom  !" 

And  when  the  officers  had  removed  the  prisoners 
Marjorie  Kennedy  walked  forth  from  the  hall  of  judg- 
ment as  silent  and  composed  as  though  she  had  been 
coming  out  of  the  kirk  on  a  still  summer's  morning  with 
her  Bible  in  her  hand. 


CHAPTER  L 
THE  LAST  OF  THE  GRAY  MAN" 

It  was  the  morn  of  the  execution.  Justice,  delayed  for 
long,  was  that  day  to  let  fall  its  sword.  We  of  the  Cas- 
sillis  colors  mustered  in  the  dead  of  the  night,  for  there 
was  no  force  save  the  City  Guard  within  the  walls.  And 
we  had  recently  had  overly  many  proofs  how  little  these 
men  could  do  with  the  unruly  commons  of  Edinburgh  if 
it  pleased  them  to  be  turbulent.  So  it  had  come  to  be 
bruited  abroad  that  there  was  an  intent  to  prevent  the 
execution  and  deliver  the  murderers  out  of  the  hands  of 
justice. 

But  we  were  resolved  that  this  should  not  be.  So,  as 
was  our  bounden  duty,  we  armed  us  to  support  the  right, 
and  to  keep  the  King's  peace  against  all  riotous  law- 
breakers. 

The  Earl  gave  to  me  the  command  of  one-half  of  the 
band,  reserving  the  other  for  himself.  And  already  he 
called  me  Sir  Launcelot,  though  I  had  not  yet  received 
the  acknowledgment  of  knighthood  from  the  King. 

At  the  first  break  of  day  it  was  to  be  done.  Of  this 
we  had  private  notice  from  the  turnkey  of  the  Talbooth. 

I  had  worked  earnestly  upon  my  mother  and  Nell  that 
they  should  abide  from  the  business — which  was,  indeed, 
not  for  womankind  to  see.  Though  I  knew  that  there 
would  be  many  there — ay,  even  dames  gentle  of  degree. 
But  my  father  marched  with  me. 

"Shall  I  put  my  harness  off  me,"  said  he,  "when 
there  is  a  chance  of  a  tumult,  and  of  the  defeating  of  the 


THE    LAST    OF   THE    GEAY   MAN"  383 

solemn  justice  of  Providence  and  of  King  James  ?  God 
forbid  !     Wife,  help  me  on  with  my  Jack." 

So  I  placed  my  father  in  my  own  command,  and  I  set 
him  in  the  second  rank  with  Hugh  of  Kirriemore  beside 
him  and  Eobert  Harburgh  in  front  of  him,  where  I 
Judged  he  would  not  come  to  any  great  harm.  And  we 
Kennedies  had  the  King's  private  permission  thus  to 
come  through  the  town  under  arms.  When  we  arrived 
at  the  place  the  tall  scaffold  had  already  been  set  up  at 
the  cross,  and  even  ere  we  arrayed  us  first  about  it  many 
a  candle  had  begun  to  wink  here  and  there  in  the  tall 
windows  of  the  High  Street. 

The  Earl  was  to  command  a  second  strong  guard  from 
the  prison  port  to  the  scaffold,  lest  the  rabble  should 
try  to  overwhelm  the  City  Guard  and  the  marshal's  men 
as  they  convoyed  the  prisoners  to  the  place  of  execu- 
tion. 

Thus  we  of  the  first  band  stood  grimly  to  our  arms  a 
long  time  after  the  gloaming  of  the  morning  began. 
The  hum  of  the  folk  gathering  surrounded  us.  There 
was,  however,  little  pleasance  or  laughing,  as  there  is  at 
an  ordinary  heading  or  hanging  ;  and  that  did  not  be- 
token good,  for  when  the  populace  is  silent  it  is  plot- 
ting. This  much  I  had  learned  in  my  long  service  and 
afterwards  as  a  knight-at-arms.  Therefore,  I  hold  it  the 
true  wisdom  to  strike  ere  the  many -headed  can  bite. 
That,  at  least,  is  my  thought  of  it. 

Slowly  and  slowly  three  or  four  dark  figures  on  the 
scaffold  grew  clearer  to  our  eyes,  till  we  could  see  the 
headsman  and  his  assistants  waiting  patiently  for  their 
work  to  be  brought  to  them.  The  chief  of  these  was  a 
man  mighty  of  his  arms.  He  had  a  black  mask  upon 
his  face,  and  was  naked  even  to  the  waist.  A  leathern 
apron  like  a  smith's  was  done  about  his  loins,  and  he 
stood  leaning  his  broadaxe  upon  the  block.  The  sun 
was  Just  beginning   to  redden  the  clouds  in  the  east 


384  THE   GRAY    MAN" 

when  the  door  of  the  Tolbooth  fell  open  with  a  loud 
noise.  At  the  very  same  moment  the  rooks  and  jack- 
daws arose  in  a  perfect  cloud  from  the  pinnacles  of  St. 
Giles  as  well  as  from  the  whole  city.  And  in  a  black 
clanging  cloud  they  drifted  seaward.  Which  was  looked 
upon  as  a  marvel  by  them  that  watched  for  freits.  For 
they  said,  "These  be  John  Mure's  devils  that  have  for- 
saken him,"  And,  indeed,  whether  there  was  aught  in 
it  or  no,  certain  is  it  that  the  birds  came  not  back  for 
many  days — at  least,  not  to  my  seeing ;  but  then  I  was 
much  occupied  with  other  matters. 

As  the  procession  came  out  the  Earl  John  and  his  men 
filed  on  either  side  in  a  triple  line,  with  the  axe-men  of 
the  guard  marching  close  about  the  prisoners.  John 
Mure  walked  first  in  his  gray  cloak,  but  bareheaded, 
striding  reverend  and  strong  before  all.  Behind  him 
came  his  son.  And  hand  in  hand  with  him  (0  marvel 
of  marvels  I)  was  she  that  had  been  in  name  his  wife, 
even  Marjorie  Kennedy.  And  as  they  came  the  light 
grew  clearer.  There  seemed  to  be  almost  a  smile  upon 
the  Lady  Marjorie's  face.  And  James  Mure  listened  in- 
tently as  she  spoke  low  and  steadily  to  him. 

For  Marjorie  had  in  these  days  become  (as  it  seemed) 
a  woman  removed  from  us,  supported  by  no  earthly  food. 
For  none  touched  her  lijDs,  her  strength  being  upheld  by 
some  power  from  above — at  least,  so  I  think.  She  had 
received  permission  from  the  King  to  be  with  her  hus- 
band in  his  last  hours. 

''I  have  fulfilled  the  Lord's  justice,  for  my  duty  was 
laid  upon  me,"  she  said,  ''  but  I  would  not  kill  both  body 
and  soul." 

How  she  effected  it  I  know  not ;  but  certain  it  is  that 
during  the  weeks  of  waiting  she  had  won  James  Mure  in 
some  sort  to  contrition  and  prayer.  And  now  with  hi.': 
hand  in  hers  they  walked  together  along  the  short  way 
to  the  scaffold  foot ;   but  old  John  Mure  strode  scorn- 


THE    HEADSMAN    AND    HIS    ASSISTANTS    WAITING    PATIENTLY 
FOR  THEIR  work" 


THE   LAST    OF   THE    GRAY    MAN  385 

fully  on  before,  heedful  neither  of  man  nor  woman. 
And  I  swear  that  I  could  not  but  in  some  measure  ad- 
mire at  him,  devil  of  cruelty  as  he  was. 

They  climbed  the  scaffold  —  John  Mure  calmly,  as 
though  he  were  leading  a  lady  to  a  banquet-table — but 
his  son  faltered  and  had  fallen  at  the  ladder  foot  save 
for  the  hand  of  Marjorie,  who  walked  in  white  by  his 
side,  accompanying  him  faithfully  to  his  end. 

"I  am  his  wife,"  she  said.  "It  was  I  who  brought 
him  to  this.  Ye  will  not  twain  me  from  him  on  this  day 
of  shame.  Never  have  I  owned  James  Mure  as  my  hus- 
band before,  but  I  own  him  now."  These  were  her 
words  when  the  captain  of  the  guard  was  instant  with 
her  to  depart  home. 

And  I  declare  that  the  doomed  man  looked  at  her  with 
something  like  a  beast's  dumb  gratitude  in  his  eyes, 
which,  when  you  think  on  it,  is  a  thing  marvellous 
enough.  And  I  ask  not  that  it  shall  be  believed.  Yet  I 
saw  it,  and  will  at  any  time  uphold  the  truth  of  it  with 
my  sword  if  need  be. 

At  last  they  stood  upon  the  scaffold  platform,  and  the 
headsman  made  ready.  Then  there  sounded  above  the 
mingled  roar  of  the  multitude  the  blowing  of  a  trumpet, 
and  the  King's  gay  favorite,  the  Duke  of  Lennox,  rode 
to  the  foot  of  the  stage.     He  had  a  paper  in  his  hand. 

"A  pardon  !     A  pardon  !"  yelled  the  people. 

My  heart  gave  a  great  leap  and  stood  still. 

"They  never  dare  !"  cried  I.  "Lads,  stand  firm.  If 
the  King  hath  pardoned  the  murderers,  shall  we  of  the 
west  ?    Will  ye  follow  me,  lads  ?" 

And  they  whispered  back,  "  Ay,  that  we  will.  We  will 
help  you  to  do  Justice  upon  them.  The  Mures  shall 
never  leave  this  place  alive,  though  we  all  die  also.  We 
shall  not  go  back  to  Carrick  shamed  by  these  men's 
lives." 

So  we  arranged  it,  if  by  any  chance  there  should  be 

25 


386  THE   GKAY   MAK 

news  of  a  reprieve.  For  it  was  by  singular  good  hap  that 
we  were  the  only  company  nnder  arms  in  the  city,  save 
the  few  men  of  the  Town  Guard. 

But  when  Lennox  made  his  way  to  the  scaffold  we 
heard  another  way  of  it.  I  was  almost  underneath  the 
staging  upon  the  front,  and  heard  that  which  was  said, 
almost  every  word. 

"  The  King  to  you  two  traitors  about  to  die,"  he  read. 
"  His  Majesty  desires  greatly  to  be  informed  of  the  cer- 
tainty of  these  things  whereof  you  have  been  accused, 
and  for  which  you  have  been  Justly  condemned — the  mur- 
der of  Sir  Thomas  Kennedy,  the  matter  of  the  bloody 
daffsrer  thrown  at  the  Eed  House,  the  Treasure  of  Kel- 
wood,  and  its  taking  out  of  the  change-house  on  the  Red 
Moss.  His  Majesty  the  King  offers  life  and  his  clem- 
ency in  a  perpetual  exile  upon  some  warded  isle  to  the 
first  of  you  that  will  reveal  the  whole  matter." 

The  King's  favorite  ceased  his  reading  and  looked  at 
the  condemned  men. 

And  John  Mure  in  his  plain  gray  cloak,  which  he  had 
not  yet  laid  aside,  looked  askance  at  Lennox,  who  shone 
like  a  butterfly  in  gay  colors,  being  tricked  out  in  the 
latest  fitful  extravagancies  of  fashion. 

"We  shall  be  grateful  to  His  Majesty  all  our  lives," 
said  he,  sneeringly;  "  but  the  Solomon  of  Scotland  is  so 
wise  that  he  can  easily  certify  himself  of  the  truth  of 
these  things  without  our  poor  aid." 

But  James  Mure  the  younger,  where  he  stood  with  his 
wife  by  his  side,  seemed  a  little  struck  with  the  message, 
and  beoan  to  listen  with  interest. 

"  Read  that  again,"  he  said  to  Lennox,  abruptly. 

And  Lennox,  prinking  and  preening  him  like  a  gay- 
feathered  Indian  bird  in  my  lady's  bower,  read  the  King's 
mandate  over  again. 

John  Mure  watched  his  son  with  tlie  eye  of  a  crouch- 
ing wild-cat.      The  younger  man  was   about   to   utter 


THE    LAST   OF   THE    GKAY    MAN"  387 

something  wlicn  his  father  said  quickly  to  Lennox,  "I 
pray  thee,  my  Lord  Duke,  may  I  speak  with  you  a  mo- 
ment apart  ?     I  am  the  first  to  accept  the  offer  \" 

And  with  that  they  came  both  of  them  to  the  side  of 
the  scaffokl  where  I  was  on  guard,  leaving  James  Mure 
standing  with  drooping  head  by  the  block. 

"  Hark  ye,  my  lord,^'  said  Auchendrayne  the  elder, 
"  thy  master's  terms  are  fair  enough  to  be  offered  to  a 
dying  man  on  the  scaffold.  I  will  take  them.  But  on 
condition  that  my  son  be  executed  before  I  reveal  the 
secret.  For  there  are  but  two  of  us  left,  and  we  have 
been  close  to  one  another  all  our  lives.  I  would  not, 
therefore,  have  my  son  think  that  I,  being  an  old  man, 
for  the  sake  of  a  year  or  two  of  longer  life,  would  reveal 
those  matters  for  which  he  has  already  suffered  the  tor- 
ture of  the  extreme  question  with  so  great  constancy, 
both  in  the  King's  inquest  chamber  and  before  the  Lords 
of  Secret  Council." 

"  That  is  easily  arranged,"  said  Lennox,  dusting  at 
his  doublet.  "I  have  but  to  give  the  Avord  to  the 
executioner  and  he  will  do  his  duty  first  uj)on  your 
son.  Then  he  will  halt  till  you  have  accepted  the 
King's  mercy,  and  given  pledge  and  earnest  of  full 
revelations  concerning  these  hidden  and  mysterious 
matters." 

This  was  Lennox's  customary  manner  of  speaking — as 
he  had  learned  it  in  the  English  Court,  with  womanish 
conceits  and  a  flood  of  words  and  gestures.  And  as  he 
spoke  he  smiled  upon  John  Mure,  as  though  the  old  gray 
man  in  the  cloak  and  reverend  beard  had  been  some 
young  and  easy-virtued  dame  of  the  Court. 

And  so  taken  up  with  himself  was  he  that  he  did  not 
observe  the  basilisk  look  which  the  arch-conspirator 
turned  upon  him. 

Lennox  held  up  his  hand  to  the  executioner. 

"  In  the  King's  name,"  ho  cried  to   the  man  in  the 


388  THE   GEAY   MA]Sr 

mask,    ''do   tliiiie   office   upon  the   younger  first,  and 
speedily." 

"  These  are  not  my  orders  !"  quoth  he  in  the  mask, 
curtly. 

Lennox  flashed  a  little  ebon  staff,  with  a  golden  crown 
set  upon  the  summit,  before  his  eyes. 

"  Would'st  thou  argie-bargie  with  me  ?"  he  said,  "  then 
right  soon  another  shall  take  thy  bishopric  and  (as  thou 
dost  others)  shalt  shepherd  thee  to  Hades." 

Whereat  Marjorie,  robed  in  her  clear-shining  white, 
took  the  hand  of  James  Mure,  the  man  that  was  about  to 
die. 

"Husband,"  said  she,  calmly,  "I  have  asked  pardon 
for  thee  from  God  —  do  thou  also  ask  it  now,  ere  swift 
death  take  thee.     Ask  it  both  from  God  and  man." 

For  she  had  been  his  ministrant  angel  in  the  prison. 
And  her  own  heart  being  changed — vengeance  in  the 
drinking  not  seeming  so  sweet  a  cup  as  it  had  ajopeared 
in  the  mixing.  She  had  also  won  the  sullen  mechanic 
heart  of  him  who,  according  to  the  law  of  the  land,  had 
been  so  long  her  husband.  She  had  showed  him  the  way 
to  a  certain  sum  of  faith,  penitence,  and  hope.  Which, 
perchance,  he  snatched  at,  not  so  much  for  themselves, 
but  as  the  best  things  which  were  left  to  him. 

"James,  won  thou  forth  on  thy  way.  Fear  not! 
Thou  shalt  not  be  long  alone,"  she  said  to  him. 

And,  staggering  a  little,  he  moved  across  the  scafEold. 
He  would  have  fallen  but  that  Marjorie  set  his  hand 
upon  her  shoulder  and  put  her  arm  about  him.  So  he 
came  forward  stumbling  like  a  man  in  sore  sickness,  as 
doubtless  he  was. 

"  I  am  a  sinful  man,"  he  said,  so  that  some,  at  least, 
could  hear  him.  "Pray  for  me,  good  people.  Keep 
your  hands  from  blood,  as  I  have  not  kept  mine.  And, 
Marjorie,  though  thou  didst  never  love  me,  love  me  now, 
and  bide  with  me  till  I  die." 


THE   LAST   OF   THE    GRAY   MAN  389 

"Fearr  not,"  she  said  ;  "  I  will  stand  beside  thee,  and 
not  only  here.  I  have  a  message  that  I  shall  right  soon 
be  called  to  journey  with  thee  farther,  meeting  thee  some- 
where by  the  way  that  thou  must  go." 

And  calling  him  again  "  sweet  brother"  and  "James," 
she  laid  down  his  neck  npon  the  block,  and  with  one  blow 
the  headsman  featly  did  his  office.  But  Marjorie  stood 
still  and  received  the  poor  head  in  a  decent  napkin  after 
the  masked  man  had  held  it  up. 

John  Mure  looked  at  her  and  at  his  son  all  the 
time,  and  an  evil  and  contemptuous  light  shone  in  his 
eyes. 

"  Madam,"  he  said,  "it  had  done  no  harm  had  you  be- 
gun your  care  and  attendance  somewhat  earlier.  Ye 
might  have  made  a  decent  preacher  out  of  James.  He 
was  never  muckle  worth  for  anght  else." 

Then  Lennox  came  forward  again  with  his  paper. 

"Now,  John  Mure,"  he  said,  "we  have  done  according 
to  yonr  desire.  Ye  will  now,  I  doubt  not,  having  seen  the 
end  and  reward  of  iniquity  in  the  person  of  your  son, 
accept  His  Majesty's  so  marvellous  clemency,  and  be  con- 
tent to  reveal  all  the- matter." 

He  came  a  little  near  to  the  old  man,  airily  whisking 
his  paper  with  his  forefinger. 

John  Mure  waved  him  aside  with  one  hand,  and  held 
his  nose  with  the  other. 

"  Pah  !  Get  apart  from  me,  civet  cat !"  he  cried. 
"  Think  ye  that  I  will  have  any  dealings  with  yon  or  with 
your  dullard  fool  master.  King  Baggy-breeches  ?  I  saw 
that  ye  might,  perchance,  were  I  first  turned  to  dead  clay 
and  lappered  blood,  chance  to  get  something  out  of  James 
there.  I  saw  him  look  somewhat  too  eagerly  on  your  re- 
prieve, for  much  belated  domesticity  had  turned  him  soft. 
So  I  played  with  you.  And  now,  wot  ye  well,  ye  shall 
know  nothing  from  me  that  your  precious  Solomon  of 
asses  cannot  divine  for  himself  !" 


390  THE   GRAY   MAN 

He  took  oS  his  cloak  of  gray  and  lace  collar,  baring  his 
neck  for  the  dead  stroke. 

"Stay/'  he  said  to  Lennox.  "Since  your  wise  King 
is  so  curious.  Here  is  a  history  of  divers  matters  that 
may  interest  your  master.     It  may  do  him  some  good." 

The  new  Minister  of  Edinburgh,  a  soft-spoken,  King- 
fearing  man,  came  near.     John  Mure  looked  at  him, 

' '  Of  what  religion  art  thou  ?"  he  asked.  "Ay,  verily,  of 
the  King's  religion.  Were  my  time  not  so  circumscribed 
I  would  have  at  thee  Avith  texts,  thou  time-serving  rogue. 
Ay,  and  would  swinge  thee  with  them  soundly,  too." 

"  In  what  religion  dost  thou  die  ?"  said  the  minister. 
For  it  was  a  customary  question  in  those  days,  when  men 
were  forced  to  live  and  die  on  the  borderland  of  many 
creeds. 

John  Mure  smiled  as  he  bent  his  head  to  the  block. 

"Of  the  ancientest  persuasion,"  said  ho,  "for  I  am 
ready  to  believe  in  any  well  -  disposed  god  whom  I  may 
chance  to  meet  in  my  pilgriming.  But  in  none  will  I  be- 
lieve till  I  do  meet  him.  Nevertheless,  do  thou,  like  a 
wise,  silly  bishop,  stickto  the  King  and  thy  printed  book  !" 

Which  saying  was  remembered  when  the  minister  was 
afterwards  made  a  bishop  by  the  King's  favor. 

With  these  words  John  Mure  threw  out  his  hands  with 
a  sharp  jerk — for  that  was  the  customary  signal.  The 
broadaxe  rose  and  fell,  flashing  in  the  sun  a  moment  ere 
it  crashed  dully  upon  the  block.  The  westlaud  men  gave 
a  shout,  and  the  heathen  spirit  of  John  Mure  of  Auchen- 
drayne,  carrying  such  a  load  of  sin  and  bloodshedding  as 
never  soul  did  before  or  since,  fared  forth  alone  to  its  own 
place. 


CHAPTER  LI 
marjoeie's  good-night 

Even"  as  the  axe  was  falling  Marjorie  Kennedy  sank 
down  upon  the  platform  of  the  scaffold  as  though  the 
stroke  had  fallen  upon  her.  I  sheathed  my  sword  and 
sprang  upon  the  slippery  stage  to  hold  her  up.  When  I 
took  her  in  my  arms  she  was  soft  and  pliable  in  all  her 
limbs  like  a  little  child.  Till  now  she  had  been  like  a 
woman  of  steel,  or,  rather,  like  one  carven  in  alabaster,  as 
I  have  said.  But  now  she  lay  in  my  arms  like  a  new-born 
babe  on  the  nurse's  lap. 

We  carried  her  homeward,  making,  strangely  enough, 
for  some  distance,  but  one  procession  with  the  bodies 
which  were  going  to  be  buried  without  the  wall,  while  the 
heads  were  taken  to  be  set  on  the  pikes  of  the  Nether  Bow. 

To  the  Earl  John's  own  lodging  we  brought  her,  and 
in  a  room  with  a  wide  north-looking  window  we  laid  her 
down  on  a  bed.  Then  we  stood  silently  about  her,  Nell 
and  I  being  nearest. 

In  a  little  while  Marjorie  turned  her  head  to  the  window. 
The  sun  had  risen  on  the  sea.  A  north  wind  was  blowing. 
All  was  very  blue,  and  smacked  of  the  morning  freshness, 
for  the  window  was  open,  and  the  sea  air  blew  off  the  firth 
almost  as  salt  it  was  wont  to  blow  in  at  the  windows  of 
Culzeau. 

Thrice  she  moved  her  lips  to  speak,  but  till  the  fourth 
time  no  word  came. 

"  I  have  done  the  work  appointed,"  she  said  ;  "  I  ken 
not  if  I  have  done  it  right." 


392  THE   GKAY   MAN 

She  paused  a  little,  and  her  eyes,  as  she  looked  at  the 
sea,  were  very  wide  and  wistful. 

"It  is  a  hard  saying  that  'Vengeance  is  His.'  I 
thought  it  would  be  sweet — sweet,"  she  said,  "but  now 
in  the  mouth  it  is  bitter." 

"Hush  thee,  Marjoric,"  whispered  my  Nell ;  "it  was 
the  justice  of  God  upon  the  murderers  of  our  father." 

And  I  thought  that  she  spoke  well. 

But  Marjorie  waved  her  aside. 

"Like  enough,"  she  answered,  quietly,  as  one  that 
has  not  strength  to  argue,  but  yet  holds  the  contrary 
opinion.  "  Done,  at  least,  is  Marjorie's  task.  I  journey 
forth  to  take  my  wages.     Fare  you  well." 

She  turned  her  face  a  little  outward  so  that  she  could 
look  upon  the  sea  and  the  Fife  Lomonds. 

"  A  dearer  shore,"  she  said,  softly,  and  then  she  started 
a  little,  quickly,  as  if  she  had  waked  from  sleep. 

"  Where  am  I  ?"  she  asked. 

But  ere  we  could  answer — even  Nell,  who  stood  close 
beside  her  and  stroked  her  brow  with  a  soft  hand — she 
went  on  : 

"  Oh,  what  am  I  saying  ?  I  was  thinking  on  our 
garden  at  Culzean,  with  its  rose  walks  and  the  sweet 
dreaming  scent  of  the  sea  ?" 

She  looked  up  at  me,  as  it  had  been  almost  archly, 
yet  so  as  almost  to  break  my  heart. 

"  Launcelot,  lad,"  she  said,  "  hast  thou  thy  gage  that 
I  gave  thee  there  ?  Ye  thought  me  once  to  be  sweet. 
And  I  liked  you,  laddie,  I  liked  you — with  something 
just  an  inch  on  the  hither  side  of  loving.  But  now 
Nelly  will  love  thee  a  mile  on  the  farther  side.  Come 
you,  Nell,"  she  said,  beckoning  her,  "  brave,  sweet 
sister  !  Let  not  thy  sharp  tongue  longer  injure  thy 
warm  heart.  Give  me  your  hand,  little  sister  Nelly. 
Where  is  it  ?  I  cannot  see — for  the  bright  shining 
light." 


-;^5»5^ 


K 
B 

O 
o 

o 


MAEJOEIE's   good-night  393 

And  finding  Nell's  hand  she  put  it  into  mine  across 
the  bed. 

"  Good-night,  bairns/'  she  said  ;  "  even  so  keep  them 
till  the  world  ends  !" 

Then  for  a  short  space  she  was  silent,  and  when  she 
spoke  again  it  was  very  low,  so  that  none  save  Nell  and 
I  could  hear.  But  the  words  made  us  tingle  as  we  caught 
them. 

"Gilbert,"  she  was  saying  in  a  whisper,  clear  and  dis- 
tinct, "  is  it  not  sweet  to  Avalk  thns  hand  in  hand  on  the 
green  meadows  ?  Are  not  the  spring  floAvers  sweet,  lad 
of  my  love  ?  Shall  I  sing  thee  a  song  abont  them  ?  For, 
though  thon  know'st  it  not,  I  can  sing  both  high  and 
low." 

Then  she  spoke  as  it  had  been  liltingly  and  gladsomely. 

"  Gilbert,  let  me  set  this  spray  of  the  bonny  birk  above 
thine  heart.  Methinks  it  hath  a  strange  look.  I  kenned 
not  that  it  grew  in  this  countryside." 

She  broke  into  a  weird  lilt  of  song  that  sent  the 
tears  hasting  to  onr  eyes.  But  Marjorie  was  smiling  as 
she  never  smiled  on  me,  and  that  made  me  weep  the 

more  : 

"It  neither  grew  ia  syke  nor  ditch, 
Nor  j'ct  in  ony  sheuch  ; 
But  at  the  gates  o'  Paradise, 
That  birk  grew  fair  eneuch  !" 

"■  Gilbert,  Gilbert,"  she  said,  lovingly,  crooning  like  one 
that  is  caressed,  "is  not  this  right  winsome  ?  That  we 
are  walking  here  together  on  the  living  green — with  all 
our  fashes,  all  our  troubles  left  quite  behind  us.  There 
was  surely  something  long  ago  that  wearied  us,  some- 
thing that  parted  us  and  twained  us.  I  cannot  mind 
what  it  was.  I  shall  not  try  to  remember.  But,  love  of 
mine,  it  shall  separate  us  no  more  for  ever  and  ever  !" 

Her  voice  had  almost  gone.  Biit  once  again  it  came 
louder. 


394  THE   GRAY   MAN 

"  Keep  my  hand,  Gilbert/'  she  said,  trembling  a  little  ; 
"  there  is  a  mist  coming  np  over  the  green  betwixt  me 
and  the  sunshine — a  cold,  cold  mist  from  the  sea.  But 
keep  thou  my  hand,  dear  love,  clasp  it  tighter,  and  it 
will  pass  over." 

I  saw  the  death-sweat  break  on  her  brow. 

"Gilbert,  Gilbert,"  she  whispered,  searching  above 
her  with  her  hands  and  opening  her  arms,  "clasp  me 
closer.  I  cannot  see  thee,  love,  for  the  mist.  I  cannot 
feel  your  hand." 

I  bent  my  ear.  I  thought  she  was  gone  from  us.  But, 
as  from  an  infinite  distance  I  heard  the  words  come  to 
me.     They  were  the  last,  spoken  with  great  relief. 

"  The  mist  has  gone  by,  dear  love.  The  mist  has  quite 
gone  by  !" 

And  she  lay  still,  smiling  most  sweetly. 


CHAPTER  LII 
HOME-COMIKG 

The  snows  of  another  winter  had  fallen,  frozen,  and 
lam  long  ere  they  were  at  last  whisked  away  by  the 
winds  of  a  brisk  and  bitter  March.  It  was  now  again 
the  spring-time  upon  the  face  of  the  earth — the  time  of 
the  earliest  singing  of  the  mavis,  of  the  sweet  piping  of 
the  blackbird  on  the  tree.  The  grasses  were  green,  too, 
over  the  nnforgotten  grave  of  our  Marjorie.  But  we 
who  loved  her  had  won  to  a  memory  that  was  not  now 
wholly  sorrow.  Specially  we  remembered  the  sweet  and 
profitable  end  she  had  made,  when  after  many  days  of 
bitter  winter  in  her  heart,  forgiveness  and  love  at  last 
unsealed  her  bosom. 

It  had  been  a  long  winter  for  us  all,  because  it  be- 
hooved that  I  should  go  to  London,  there  to  be  made  one 
of  His  Majesty's  new  knights.  For  I  had  told  all  my 
tale  to  the  King,  being  so  charged  by  the  Earl  John. 

^'Yet,"  said  he,  ''keep  ever  your  thumb  upon  the 
matter  of  the  Treasure  of  Kelwood.  And  I  will  keep 
mine  right  effectually  upon  Currie,  the  ill-conditioned 
thief  thereof." 

And  so  he  did,  and  for  the  same  Laird  of  Kelwood's 
sake  chiefly  he  set  to  mending  and  patching  our  old 
tower  of  defence  on  Craig  Ailsa,  in  which  he  gave  one 
Hamilton  the  charge  of  him  as  prisoner,  together  with 
John  Dick  the  traitor  and  two  or  three  more. 

"It  was  a  fine,  quiet  place,"  said  the  Earl  John,  "and 
would  give  such  rascals  time  and  oj)portunity  for  re- 


396  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

pentance  —  which/'  added  he,  "seems  more  than  I  am 
ever  likely  to  get  with  all  this  throng  of  business  on 
hand." 

For  the  Earl  John  was  now  waxen  one  of  the  greatest 
men  in  broad  Scotland,  and  withal  he  had  all  the  power 
worth  considering  in  the  shire  of  Ayr.  So  that  even  the 
Craufords,  wanting  now  their  ancient  chief,  and  broken 
with  bickerings  among  themselves,  sent  an  embassy  of 
peace  and  good-will  to  him. 

It  chanced  that  it  came  when  the  Earl  was  in  a  good 
humor. 

"Ah,  John  Crauford,"  said  Cassillis,  "'tis  a  changed 
day  since  Bargany  and  you  chased  us  oS  Skeldon  Ilaughs. 
It  looks  as  if  the  sow  had  not  been  flitted  so  far,  after  all. 
But  ye  shall  have  the  peace  ye  ask.  For  we  live  under 
a  gracious  King,  who  loves  quietness  as  much  as  when  he 
dwelt  here  in  our  kindly  north.  And  he  is  now  the 
better  able  to  enforce  it.  Therefore,  look  ye  to  it.  I  will 
maintain  you  Craufords  in  your  heritages  of  Kerse,  which, 
by  my  power  as  Bailzie,  I  might  legally  declare  forfeit. 

"  But  I  will  tell  you  what  ye  must  do  in  return.  Ye 
shall  render  me  place  and  precedence  at  kirk  and  mar- 
ket. Ye  shall  build  up  your  private  door  in  Dalrymple 
Kirk,  and  ye  shall  abide  from  taking  your  places  there 
till  ye  have  seen  me  seated." 

To  this,  dourly  enough,  the  Craufords  perforce  agreed. 
For,  indeed,  they  could  make  no  better  of  it,  so  great  a 
man  was  our  Earl  grown. 

But  to  me  he  was  ever  kind,  and  proved  none  so  ill- 
given  when  it  liked  him.  For  he  said,  "Build  you  the 
house  of  Palgowan  and  I  will  plenish  it  for  you,  and  that 
not  meanly.  And  you  and  my  cousin  Nell  shall  rear 
me  routh  of  lusty  knaves  to  protect  my  southwestern 
marches,  and  keep  down  the  reivers  of  the  Dungeon  \" 
Which,  indeed  (so  far  as  I  was  concerned),  I  was  right 
willing  to  promise. 


IIOME-COMINCt  397 

So  it  came  about  that  the  Earl  would  have  it  that  our 
wedding  must  be  held  in  the  ancient  strength  of  Cassil- 
lis,  which  sits  by  the  waterside  not  so  far  from  the  town 
of  Ayr.  And  a  bonny,  well  -  sheltered  place  it  is  —  not 
like  Culzean,  which  stands  blusteringiy  on  the  seabrink, 
over -frowning  all.  And  because  the  Earl  of  Cassillis 
said  it,  so  it  was  bound  to  be. 

For  he  was  our  Nell's  guardian,  and  besides  we  that 
were  to  live  under  him  were  none  the  worse  of  keeping 
in  with  him. . 

AVlien  I  went  to  do  my  courting,  as  often  as  not  I 
found  Nell  walking  with  him,  and  ofttimes  flouting  him. 
And  when  I  would  have  cautioned  her,  "  Tut,"  she  said, 
''he  likes  nothing  better.  If  his  own  wife  flouted  him 
he  might  stay  better  at  home." 

"■  Cousin,"  Nell  would  say  to  him  sometimes — "  Cousin 
John,  ye  think  ye  are  such  a  great  man,  yet  a  little  mus- 
ket-ball, or  a  woman's  finger-long  bodkin,  might  let  all 
thy  greatness  out.     Ye  should  think  oftener  on  that." 

"What,  Nell,"  said  he,  "is  it  that  the  hour  of  thy 
marriage  grows  so  near  that  thou  must  test  thy  preach- 
ing on  me  ?  Keep  the  proof  of  the  pudding  for  thine 
own  good  man." 

"Ah,"  said  she,  "perchance  my  cousin,  the  noble 
Countess,  has  already  given  thee  thy  fill  of  it." 

"Thou  art  a  forward  chit,"  said  he,  wringing  her  ear 
between  his  finger  and  thumb.  "  I  hope  Launce  will 
swinge  thee  tightly  with  a  supple  birch  for  thy  often 
naughtiness." 

It  was,  indeed,  a  notable  day  when  Nell  and  I  were 
married.  All  the  morning  my  heart  was  beating  a  fine 
tune  lest  something  should  happen  ere  I  got  my  lass  car- 
ried off  to  our  home.  Alone  I  rode  from  the  Cove  of 
Culzean  to  the  house  of  Cassillis.  I  started  brave  and 
early,  and  my  good  old  horse,  Dom  Nicholas,  rode  for 
once  the  right  road  and  the  ready,  the  gate  that  I  longed 


398  THE    GRAY    MAN 

to  go.  I  had  a  rare  fine  coat  of  bine  silk  upon  me,  belt- 
ed about  the  waist  with  the  King's  belt,  and  with  the 
King's  order  of  knighthood  all  a-glitter  upon  my  breast. 
Silver -buttoned  was  my  coat,  and  of  solid  silver,  too, 
were  the  accoutrements  of  Dom  Nicholas  —  ay,  to  the 
very  stirrups  and  the  broidery  on  his  blue  saddle-cloth. 
I  wore  the  Earl's  Damascus  sword,  his  first  gift,  swing- 
ing at  my  side ;  and  as  Dom  Nicholas  and  I  went 
through  Maybole,  wot  ye  if  we  kept  not  our  heads  uj). 
For  the  lasses  ran  out  in  clouds  to  watch  us  go  past,  and, 
what  was  even  better,  the  lads  sulked  and  turned  their 
backs,  saying  that  they  would  be  shamed  to  lay  a  leg 
across  a  horse's  back  thus  aj^parelled.  For  I  knew  well 
what  they  were  thinking.  Had  I  been  trudging  afoot  in 
hodden,  and  they  riding  by  all  in  silk  with  a  gold-hilted 
sword,  that  is  just  what  I  should  have  said.  So  the 
black  envy  eating  into  their  hearts  and  lowering  on  their 
brows  cheered  me  like  old  French  wine  on  a  cold  day. 

I  had  not  gone  far  across  the  bent  when  I  spied  a  cav- 
alcade before  me.  It  was  the  men  of  Culzean,  whom  I 
had  so  often  led  in  battle,  come  to  give  me  a  right  gay 
sending  off.  And  at  their  head  rode  James  (now  the 
heir),  mirthful  Sandy,  and  mine  own  little  Davie, 
dressed  like  a  page-boy  in  satin  of  blue  and  gold. 

They  gave  me  boisterous  welcome,  and  they  that  dared 
would  have  broken  many  jests  of  the  time-honored  sort 
upon  my  head.  But  on  such  a  day  a  lover's  head  is  hel- 
meted  alike  against  the  hand  of  war  and  the  strife  of 
tongues. 

The  Earl  himself  met  us  at  Cassillis  Yett ;  whereupon 
1  dismounted  and  bent  upon  a  knee.  He  raised  me  right 
courteously  and  led  me  within,  conversing  all  the  while 
as  to  an  equal.  Such  a  repair  of  folk  I  never  saw  before 
in  Carrick  or  in  Kyle.  And  sweetest  of  all  to  me  was  to 
see  my  father,  for  my  mother  had  bidden  at  home  to 
Avelcome  us  when  we  should  ride  southward. 


HOME-COMING  399 

And  among  the  first  that  came  to  bid  me  good  fortune 
were  Eobert  Harbnrgh  and  his  wife.  Now  so  soon  as 
the  eyes  of  my  ancient  love  crossed  mine  I  perceived 
well  that  there  was  yet  wickedness  lurking  in  them. 

And  whensoever  her  husband  was  called  away  on  some 
business  of  the  Earl's  I  had  proof  of  it.  For  Kate  Alli- 
son came  near  to  me,  and,  setting  her  hand  on  the  silver 
buttons  of  my  coat,  as  though  to  pick  a  thread,  she  said  : 

^'  So,  Launcelot — or,  I  should  say,  Sir  Launcelot — is  it 
come  to  this  ?  You  see,  there  is  none  so  disdainful  but 
in  time  their  fall  will  come." 

"  Nay,  Kate,"  I  made  answer,  ''  it  was  not  I  that  was 
first  disdainful,  for  do  you  mind  who  it  was  that  told  me 
certain  truths  in  the  Grieve's  house  at  Culzean  ?" 

"Ah,  Launce  !"  said  Kate  Allison,  "  own  it  now.  Was 
not  I  a  kind  leech  to  bite  one  I  loved  so  healthily  all  for 
his  good  and  for  the  cooling  of  his  blood  ?" 

"Kate  Allison,"  said  I,  "thou  wast  ever  a  minx,  a 
teasing  rogue  of  rogues.  But  thy  disdain  might  have 
gone  near  to  costing  me  my  life  !" 

"  Go  to,  Sir  Want-wit,"  said  she.  "  Did  not  I  know  all 
the  time  that  thy  love  for  me  was  no  more  than  a  boy's 
fondness  for  kissing  confits,  and  to  be  made  of  by  a  bonny 
lass  ?  AVhy,  even  then  thou  wast  fonder  of  Nell's  little 
finger  than  of  my  whole  body." 

I  knew  that  Kate  spoke  true — for,  indeed,  it  was  many 
months  since  I  had  so  much  as  thought  upon  her.  But 
this  I  told  her  not.  The  Lord  knows  how  seldom  she  had 
thought  upon  me.  But  when  they  meet  together  old 
sweethearts  take  pleasure  thus  in  dallying  with  the  past, 
when  all  wounds  have  been  healed  and  no  hearts  broken. 

But  she  saw  my  eyes  wandering,  as  I  guess,  every  way 
about,  and  she  must  needs  tease  me  concerning  that  also. 

"  Nay,"  she  said,  "  you  will  not  see  your  posy  till  she 
comes  in  to  the  minister  and  you.  So  e'en  content  ye 
for  a  little  with  an  old  married  wife  and  the  mother  of  a 


400  THE    GRAY    MAN 

family.  Ye  shall  have  time  and  to  spare  with  your  bonny 
bride  or  all  be  done." 

"  Kate/'  I  said,  "  ye  will  be  my  friend  as  of  yore  ?" 

"  Ay,  and  hold  my  tongue,"  answered  she,  quickly. 

''That  you  did  not  always,  then,"  said  I,  "for  there 
never  was  such  an  uncouth  love-making  in  the  world  as 
with  your  tell-tale  tongue  ye  made  mine.  I  dared  not  lay 
my  lips  to  a  tender  word  nor  so  much  as  seek  a  favor,  as 
it  might  be  innocently  betwixt  man  and  maid,  but  it  was 
*  That  you  said  to  Kate  on  such  a  night  !'  or  '  Think  ye 
that  I  count  so  little  on  myself  as  to  be  content  with  Kate 
Allison's  cast-off  sweet  speeches  ?'  " 

And  the  pretty  besom  laughed.  For  though  a  married 
wife  she  Avas  not  a  whit  sobered,  as  one  might  see  by  her 
eyes. 

"It  served  you  greatly  right,"  said  she  ;  "but  do  me 
some  justice.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  my  telling  of  the 
night  of  the  fair  at  Maybole,  and  of  our  home-coming  by 
the  woodland  way  ?" 

"  No,"  said  I,  curtly.  For  indeed  I  liked  not  that 
memory  specially  well,  and  wondered  that  she  did. 

"Then,"  said  Kate  Allison,  "rail  no  more  against 
woman's  tongues.  For  they  are  movable  yard-measures, 
and  let  out  no  more  than  likes  them." 

At  this  moment  they  called  to  me  from  the  great  door, 
and  Kate  Allison  waved  me  off  with  a  gay  "  Up  and  away. 
Sir  Knight !"  —  which  pleased  me  more  from  her  than 
many  a  Bcnedicite  from  another. 

The  minister  had  come,  they  said,  and  was  waiting  for 
me.  I  went  in,  and  lo !  to  my  wonder,  who  should  he  be 
but  Maister  Eobert  Bruce,  the  sequestrated  Minister  of 
Edinburgh,  with  whom  the  King  had  at  last  wholly  fallen 
out  concerning  the  matter  of  the  Gowrie  riot. 

The  Earl  smiled  at  my  wonderment. 

"Art  thou  astonished,"  ho  said,  "thus  to  see  our  ancient 
friend  in  Carrick  ?    Thinkest  thou  that  thy  marriage  will 


HOME-COMING  401 

not  stand  ?  Truth  it  will,  for  even  King  James  will  think 
twice  or  he  bids  his  bishop  unfrock  a  man  that  bides  with 
me  in  my  defenced  house  of  Cassillis." 

"  Sir  Launcelot,"  said  Maister  Eobert  Bruce,  bending 
to  me  with  his  ancient  grace  and  most  reverend  dignity, 
"this  is  the  happiest  hour  with  me  since  I  quitted  my 
high  town  upon  the  Long  Eidge.  It  is  true  that  I  wan- 
der like  a  restless  ghost  seeking  abode ;  but  as  yet  the 
King  hath  not  bent  me — yea,  though  thrice  I  have  met 
him  in  dispute  and  conference." 

Then  went  the  Earl  out  to  bring  in  my  Nell,  and  I 
listened  to  the  Minister  of  Edinburgh  speaking.  Yet,  on 
my  life  I  could  not  fix  my  mind  on  a  Avord  he  said,  for 
there  was  a  jangling  as  of  many  bells  in  mine  ears,  and  all 
the  pulses  of  my  life  beat  together.  Then  knew  I  of  a 
surety  that  none  had  power  to  touch  my  heart  like  Nell 
Kennedy,  the  lass  that  would  not  need  to  change  her 
name. 

At  last  the  door  opened  and  she  entered — leaning  on 
the  Earl's  arm  she  came.  There  was  a  rim  of  gold  about 
her  hair  like  a  coronet.  And  John  of  Cassillis  bent  over 
to  me  as  he  gave  her  into  my  hand.  "  Take  her,"  Jie 
said  ;  "  I  have  set  a  coronet  about  her  brows  for  to-day. 
She  is  in  haste  to  be  wed,  or  I  might  have  put  a  real  one 
there.  And  what  had  Sir  Launcelot  done  then,  poor 
thing  ?" 

And  I  think  the  cold,  tall  Earl  John  was  more  than  a 
little  fond  of  our  Nell,  concerning  which  I  often  rally  her 
now. 

So  Nell  and  I  were  married.  And  as  though  he  had 
known  her  and  her  teasing  temper,  Maister  Eobert  Bruce 
paused  long  on  the  promise  to  "obey"  when  he  came  to 
put  the  questions  to  her,  and  also  upon  the  words  "  obe- 
dient wife."  Wherefore  I  have  ever  held  him  to  be  a  man 
gifted  above  most  with  the  second-sight. 

It  was  between  the  sweet  hazel  and  the  flowering  May 

26 


402  THE   GKAY   MAN 

thcat  wo  rode  south  —  we  two  alone.  For  Robert  Har- 
burgh  had  led  a  company  of  men  with  flower-wreathed 
lances  and  of  young  maids  on  palfreys  as  far  as  the  cross- 
ing of  the  roads  which  come  from  Culzean,  where  there 
met  us  a  party  with  the  loving-cup. 

But  now  at  long  and  last  we  were  won  clear,  and  ever 
as  we  rode  we  caught  hands  and  laughed  and  loosed  them 
again — all  for  gladness  to  be  alone.  And  we  looked  in 
one  another's  eyes,  and  nigh  brought  ourselves  and  our 
horses  to  destruction  by  thus  looking  and  overlooking. 
Till  I  felt  mine  old  Dom  Nicholas,  a  horse  that  loves  not 
philandering,  grow  restive  and  sulky  under  my  thigh, 
tossing  his  head  up  as  one  slighted  for  the  unworthy. 
And  ever  as  Ave  went  she  charged  it  upon  me  that  then 
and  then,  and  at  such  another  time,  I  loved  her  not. 
And  ever  I  swore  that  I  did.  Thereafter,  being  beaten 
on  that  point,  she  fell  to  declaring  that  she  had  loved  me 
first  and  most — but  I  only  reluctantly  and,  as  it  had  been, 
at  second-hand. 

Thus  we  made  the  miles  and  the  hours  go  by,  redding 
np  all  our  past  life  and  planning  our  future,  wonder- 
ing the  while  if  the  stir  and  clangor  of  war  had  indeed 
passed  away  forever.  For  already  there  had  come  a  new 
look  upon  the  land.  Whether  it  was  the  union  of  the 
crowns  and  the  new  English  wealth  which  made  money 
more  plenty,  I  know  not ;  at  any  rate,  certain  it  is  that 
there  had  arrived  a  security  to  which  we  in  the  lands  of 
Carrick  had  been  strangers  for  many  generations. 

Then  it  was  that  the  farmer  began  to  set  his  oxen  to 
the  plough  in  teams  of  a  dozen  or  more,  not  fearing  any 
longer  that  there  might  come  a  glint  of  steel-harnessed 
riders  over  the  hill,  who  should  drive  his  cattle  before 
them  and  leave  himself  lying  in  the  furrow  a-welter  in 
his  blood. 

The  wind  blew  sweet  about  us.  It  seemed  that  never 
had  there  been  a  spring  like  this  one  since  the  world  be- 


HOME-COMING  403 

gan,  never  such  delicatest  airs  as  those  that  stirred  the 
crisps  about  Nell's  white  neck  when  she  bent  it  sideways 
to  hearken  to  my  speeches.  I  declare  that  were  I  not  an 
unlearned  Scot,  who  takes  to  his  pen  only  wlien  work 
for  the  sword  waxes  slack,  I  could  jiraise  my  love  in 
similitudes  of  Arabian  birds  and  ferny  sprays,  as  well  as 
Euphues'  Delight  or  even  as  in  the  gentle  Sydney  his 
Arcadia. 

But  as  it  is  I  waste  time,  for  already  I  have  spoke  too 
long,  and  must  haste  me  to  the  end.  Though  this  is  a 
part  of  my  life  that  I  could  love  to  linger  on.  For  what 
is  pleasanter  than  sunshine  after  storm  and  the  bolts  of 
ruin. 

I  declare  it  was  five  years  since  I  had  had  time  to  look 
at  a  robin.  But  there  seemed  to  be  time  for  everything 
this  fine  May  day. 

And  ever  as  we  went  it  seemed  that  we  had  been  a 
long  time  alone,  and  that  it  would  soon  come  time  to 
be  turning  back  again.  Then  to  whichsoever  of  us  the 
thought  came,  that  we  were  now  on  the  long  lane  that 
has  no  turning  (save  that  which  turns  in  at  the  kirkyaird 
loaning),  there  would  also  come  the  desire  to  touch  and 
to  look.  And  even  thus  did  Nell  Kennedy  often,  reach- 
ing her  hand  across  to  me  from  her  gentle,  equal-pacing 
steed. 

Then  would  she  fall  back  on  the  things  that  had  been, 
and  which  now  were  passed  away. 

"Yesterday,  at  such  a  time,"  she  would  say,  ''I 
thought  that  to-day  would  never  come.     And  now — " 

Whereupon  with  her  eyes  she  would  look  the  rest. 

Then  I  told  her  how  that  I  had  seen  the  dominie  but 
yestereven,  when  she  Avas  sewing  at  the  pearling  of  her 
bridal  dress  and  thinking  of  me.  He  had  gone  back 
with  his  pipes  to  the  school  by  the  kirk  at  Maybole. 

"And  what  said  he  of  our  wedding  ?"  asked  my  dear. 

"Why  I  was  instant  with   him  to  come  and  bide  at 


404  THE   GRAY   MAN" 

Palgowan/^  I  made  answer.  "  Shall  I  tell  thee  what  he 
said  r 

"  Aj,  tell  it  me,  indeed  !"  quoth  she,  blithely,  stopping 
a  moment  on  a  high-lying  moorish  summit,  with  her  hand 
above  her  eyes  and  looking  to  the  Spear  of  the  Merrick 
towards  which  we  rode. 

"  Well,  then,  he  said  that  those  that  were  but  newly 
wed  had  no  use  for  carven  negro  heads  wherein  to  put 
the  ashes  of  their  loves." 

•^"^He  is  none  so  ugly  as  that!"  said  Nell  —  with,  I 
think,  a  look  at  me  which  I  took  for  a  certain  complai- 
sance it  pleased  me  to  see. 

Then  I  told  her  how  the  dominie  had  added  that  it  was 
not  yet  time  for  men  of  his  profession  to  come  about  the 
house  of  a  newly  wedded  knight.  But  that  if  prosperity 
should  come  to  Palgowan  and  the  din  of  bairns'  voices, 
we  might  ask  him  again  in  ten  years  or  somewhat  less. 

"  Oh,"  said  Nell,  shortly,  and  rode  a  little  farther  off. 
Yet  I  flattered  myself  that  I  had  said  the  thing  pretty 
well.  For  it  was  not  at  all  in  these  terms  that  the  dom- 
inie had  put  his  offer.  Indeed,  I  was  in  a  quandary  how 
most  discreetly  to  deliver  his  message. 

So,  in  the  long  twilight  of  May,  we  came  riding  down 
Minnoch  Water.  For,  with  the  sun  setting,  we  had 
fallen  silent,  and  we  looked  no  more  so  frankly  at  each 
other.  But  with  one  accord  we  turned  our  eyes  across 
the  water  to  watch  for  the  light  of  my  mother's  candle  in 
the  little  window. 

She  heard  us  as  we  came  ;  and  there,  lo  !  before  I 
knew  it,  she  was  at  Nelly's  saddle  leather,  helping  her  to 
dismount,  and  the  tears  were  running  steadily  down  her 
face.  I  think  she  minded  the  day  when  she,  too,  had  come 
home  a  bride  to  the  little  house  of  Kirrieoch  among  the 
hills. 

"  Oh,  my  bairn — my  bairn,"  was  what  she  said,  "  come 
awa'  ben !" 


HOME-COMING  405 

And  it  was  to  Nell  that  she  said  it.  Me  she  minded 
no  more  than  a  cock-sparrow  nnder  the  eaves.  Then 
came  Hugh  of  Kirriemore  out  to  take  the  horses.  But 
I  went,  as  is  my  custom,  to  the  stable  with  Dom  Nicholas, 
for  he  never  slept  well  otherwise.  And  when  I  came  in 
again  I  found  that  my  mother  had  Nell  already  seated 
by  the  fireside,  for  it  is  chill  among  the  uplands  in  May. 
The  peats  were  burning  fine,  and  on  the  white  board  there 
was  a  supper  set  fit  for  a  prince  and  princess. 

But  all  the  time  my  mother  never  minded  me  at  all, 
save  to  rage  on  me  for  bringing  the  lass  so  far  and  so  fast. 

''But,  mother,"  said  I,  "remember  that  if  I  had  not 
made  some  haste,  all  your  fine  supper  would  have  been 
wasted." 

And  indeed  it  came  not  far  from  being  that  as  it  was, 
for  we  could  eat  but  little.  The  finest  of  muirland  fare 
seemed  somehow  or  other  to  stick  by  the  way,  tasting 
strangely  dry  and  sapless.  And  after  we  had  done  we 
drew  apart  and  looked  at  the  red  ashes,  while  my 
mother  rattled  on  about  the  simple  concerns  of  the  sheep 
and  the  calves,  which  mountain  -  bred  folk  vastly  love 
both  to  speak  of  and  to  hear  about. 

Presently  she  leaned  over  me  and  took  down  the  burnt 
Bible  out  of  the  wall  aumry. 

"  Here,  Launce,"  she  said,  *'  read  you  the  chapter  this 
night  ere  ye  sleep.  It  becomes  a  man  wedded  and  the 
head  of  a  family.     Besides,  your  father  is  from  home." 

I  declare,  I  would  sooner  have  charged  upon  the  level 
spears.  But  I  had  no  choice  with  my  mother,  speaking 
as  she  did  when  I  was  a  boy,  and  my  Nell  sitting  there 
crossing  her  pretty  ankles  by  the  fireside.  So  I  manned 
to  read  a  portion.  It  was  about  Jonathan  clambering 
up  a  rock  (and  a  good  soldier  he  was).  But  the  prayer 
fairly  beat  me.  However,  ere  we  rose  from  our  knees  we 
said  the  Lord's  prayer  all  of  us  together.  So  to  rest  we 
went,  without   other  word   spoken.     And    through   the 


406  THE   GRAY   MAN 

little  window  of  the  room  in  which  I  was  born  Nell  and 
I  could  hear,  ere  we  went  to  sleep,  the  brattle  of  the  burn 
hurrying  down  through  the  jjeace  of  the  hills,  past  our 
own  new  house  of  Palgowan,  and  so  on  towards  the  silence 
of  the  outermost  sea. 


THE   END 


By   S.  E.  KEIGHTLEY 


The  Crimson  Sign.  A  Narrative  of  the  Adventures  of  Mr. 
Gervase  Orme,  sometime  Lieutenant  in  Mountjoy's  Regi- 
ment of  Foot,     Illustrated.     Post  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental, 

$1   50. 

Mr.  Keightley  has  done  an  excellent  piece  of  work.  The  adventures 
connected  with  the  siege  of  Londonderry  give  him  his  background.  But 
the  real  charm  of  his  work  is  the  facility  lie  displays  in  making  his  char- 
acters live. — Providence  Journal. 

A  romantio,  moving,  well-told  story.  The  author  has  chosen  a  stirring 
time  for  his  theme  in  the  great  siege  of  Londonderry,  and  his  tale  is 
spirited  and  full  of  action. — Bi-ooklyn  /Standard- Union.. 

Recounts  in  an  able  manner  the  terrible  scenes  which  culminated  in 
the  siege  and  relief  of  Londonderry,  giving  his  readers  a  personal  interest 
in  the  characters  he  has  created,  and  many  and  pathetic  are  the  resulting 
pictures.  Mr.  Keightley,  with  a  few  deft  touches  of  his  pen,  brings  them 
home  to  the  reader  with  a  force  that  enables  him  to  realize  what  such 
warfare  really  means.  The  French  soldier  is  a  strange  character,  strik- 
ingly conceived. — Literary  World,  London. 

The  Cavaliers.  A  Novel.  Illustrated.  Post  8vo,  Cloth, 
Ornamental,  $1   50. 

Full  of  adventure,  incident,  and  the  wild  spirit  of  the  age,  yet  written 
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the  narrative  as  much  as  their  doings  and  escapades  that  interest  the 
reader. —  Chicago  Journal. 

A  remarkably  entertaining  story.  .  .  .  The  smooth  and  even  flow  of 
pleasant  narrative,  and  the  refined  style,  give  unfailing  pleasure,  and 
awaken  an  interest  which  has  no  chance  for  one  moment  to  flag. — 
Boston  Beacon. 

Compels  immediate  and  enduring  interest  on  the  part  of  the  reader. 
From  an  artistic  and  literary  point  of  view,  indeed,  the  book  is  entirely 
noteworthy.  It  has  swing,  verve,  and  genuine  force.  The  interest  is  cu- 
mulative, and  the  denouement  of  the  story  in  no  wise  disappointing. — 
Philadelphia  Bulletin. 

A  rattling  story  of  the  days  of  Charles  L  and  Cromwell,  in  which  the 
interest  is  kept  up  from  the  opening  of  the  first  chapter  to  the  closing  of 
the  last. — Boston  Transcript. 

Published  by  HARPER  &   BROTHERS,  New  York 

SWThe  above  works  are  for  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  will  be  sent  by  the  publishers, 
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By  a.  CONAN   DOYLE 


The   Refugees.     A  Tale  of  Two   Continents.      Illustrated. 
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A  masterly  work.  ...  It  is  not  every  year,  or  even  every  decade,  which 
produces  one  historical  novel  of  such  quality — Spectator,  London. 

The  White  Company.     Illustrated.     Post  8vo,  Cloth,  Orna- 
mental, $1  75. 

...  Dr.  Doyle's  stirring  romance,  the  best  historical  fiction  he  has 
done,  and  one  of  the  best  novels  of  its  kind  to-day. — Hartford  Couvant. 

MiCAH    Clarke.     Illustrated.     Post   8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental, 
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A  noticeable  book,  because  it  carries  the  reader  out  of  the  beaten 
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presents  a  series  of  vivid  pictures  and  paints  two  capital  portraits  ;  and  it 
leaves  upon  the  mind  the  impression  of  well-rounded  symmetry  and  com- 
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Cloth,  Ornamental,  $1  50. 

Few  writers  excel  Conan  Doyle  in  this  class  of  literature.  His  style, 
vigorous,  terse,  and  thoughtful,  united  to  a  nice  knowledge  of  the  human 
mind,  makes  every  character  a  profoundly  interesting  psychological  study. 
—  Chicago  Inter- Ocean. 

The  Parasite.     A  Story.     Illustrated.     Post  Svo.  Cloth,  Or- 
namental, $1  00. 

A  strange,  uncanny,  weird  story,  .  .  .  easily  the  best  of  it"  class.  The 
reader  is  carried  away  by  it,  and  its  climax  is  a  work  of  literary  art. — 
Cincinnati  Commercial- Gazette . 

The  Great  Shadow.     Post  Svo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $1  00. 

A  powerful  piece  of  story-telling.  Mr.  Doyle  has  the  gift  of  descrip- 
tion, and  he  knows  how  to  make  fiction  seem  reality. — Independent,  N.  Y. 


Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  New  York. 

The  above  works  are  for  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  will  be  mailed  by  the  pub- 
lishers, postage  prepaid,  on  receipt  of  the  price. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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